I am so excited! Today I received the Tucson Lifestyle Magazine, which featured Arianna in the American Heart Assocation section. The article is below.
Look at how cute she looks!
This is what the article reads:
Arianna West
Vanessa West was in her 17th week of pregnancy and just 21 years old when doctors gave her the news no expectant t mother wants to hear: her baby would require surgery soon after birth due to a congenital heart defect. What Vanessa quickly learned is that congenital heart defects are the most common type of major birth defects, afflicting 30,000 babies born each year. Her daughter Arianna West was born with Tetralogy of Fallot, a condition that includes a hole between the ventricles, and many levels of obstruction from the right ventricle to the lungs, known as pulmonary stenosis. Cardiologists waited until Arianna was six months old before repairing her tiny heart. Although Arianna’s heart continues to function, the one-year-old will eventually need another surgery to repair her heart’s valves. Vanessa, grateful for all the medical research that has allowed Arianna to live, remains hopeful that new research will help her daughter grow into a happy, healthy adult.
