“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about”.

I had an amazing pregnancy and even better labor and delivery. Everything was perfect. Our beautiful daughter, Tatum Jae Edwards, was born two weeks early on December 29th, 2012. She was perfect and nothing told us otherwise. She passed all of the newborn screening tests before leaving the hospital, except for being a little jaundiced. She was put on a phototherapy light and Home Health came to our house to draw blood everyday until her levels got better. Tatum was so lethargic and never really cried. She also was a great sleeper. It was hard to keep her awake, but we were told that was because of her jaundice. Tatum’s blood draws were awful every time Home Health came over. They had to poke her multiple times in the heel to get enough blood to send to the lab.

On January 8th 2013, Tatum was 10 days old and her pediatrician took a longer look at her during her doctor’s visit. She heard a heart murmur and wanted to send us to Children’s Hospital for an echocardiogram. I think on the way there I had a feeling that something just wasn’t right. I just remember watching the tech the whole time. He was so focused and didn’t make any eye contact with us. I’m in the medical field and I know that look. He finished and told us that he needed to make sure the cardiologist had all the images before we left. We never left. The next person that came through those doors was the cardiologist. I think my husband, Dane, and I lost it right then. We were told that Tatum had a coarctation of the aorta, a bicuspid aortic valve, a leaking tricuspid valve and an extra superior vena cava. She would need surgery to fix some of these issues. Next the surgeon came in to talk to us. He didn’t want to wait to do surgery because he believed that Tatum’s body was already shutting down because her heart had been working overtime for 10 days. Everything was happening so fast. We didn’t have time to even process what was happening.

They escorted us up to the PICU so they could prep her for surgery. Scared was understatement. My family and I had just gone through a traumatic event not even four months earlier, when Tatum’s uncle – my sister’s husband, died from complications of surgery. He was 32 years old and had a two-year-old and another baby on the way. So as we sat in that conference room with the surgeon talking about everything, all the emotions and feelings from that time came rushing back. How could this be happening again to our family? She was so little and this was such a major surgery.

When they were finally ready for her, they let me carry her down to surgery. As we made the walk down the hallway, all I could think about was of the past nine months, how much I loved being pregnant, telling Dane I was pregnant, the joy of telling our family and friends we were expecting, getting the nursery ready, the day she was born- all of it. I had only had her for 10 days but I couldn’t imagine life without her. The moment the nurse took her from my arms will be a feeling and memory that will never fade. I don’t wish that on any parent. The next few hours I felt really calm. I think it was because I knew she had all her angels looking after her, especially her Uncle Chris! The surgery was a success and Tatum did amazing. They removed her coarctation and put in a graft. They also fixed her tricuspid valve which wasn’t damaged as badly as they had first thought.

How do you thank the people that saved your daughters life? It’s something that’s hard for me to wrap my brain around. I’m thankful that these people have the ability to work these miracles. Another memory that will stay with me forever is the first time I got to see Tatum after surgery. It took everything in my body to not pick her up and not let go forever. Two days after Tatum’s surgery was my birthday and I got to hold her for the first time. That will be the best present I will ever receive. Tatum thrived after that and six days later we took her home. You would never know that she had surgery.

She has impressed us everyday. Her cry is one of the best sounds in the world because it reminds me she is here and alive. She is our little peanut as she is only in the 2nd percentile. I believe this one quote describes Tatum perfectly, “And though she be but little, she is fierce”. She has impressed everyone with her progress and has reached major milestones ahead of schedule. She began walking around 10 months. She is a busy-body and just wants to explore everything. She loves to read her books and be outside. Dane and I have been blessed with this amazingly strong and determined little girl. We can’t wait to watch her grow and I believe she is bound to do great things in life. I will never question her strengthen– that scar says it all!! We will be celebrating Tatum’s first heartiversary on January 8th! We love her more than she will ever know and she has taught Dane and me so much about ourselves and life!! Thank you to the Heart Hero family for everything they have done for us. I also want to thank all our family and friends for their continued love and support through our heart journey with Tatum!!