Chloe, Age 5

Chloe was diagnosed with several heart defects when she was 2 months old. Among them were 2 holes in her heart and a leaky mitral valve. When Chloe was 3 years old, her pediatrician said it was time for surgery. One of the holes had basically closed itself but the other one, coupled with her leaking mitral valve, were letting too much blood leak back to her lungs and had caused her right atrium to become enlarged. Her parents, Jeff and Charity, were anxious, but decided to have open heart surgery performed as soon as possible.

Thankfully, Dr. Neirotti had an opening on October 7, 2003 and Chloe came through her 6-hour operation with flying colors. The second hole is now closed and the valve is repaired, but she will still need to be monitored because a valve can never fully be fixed and she may potentially need surgery again in the future.

Chloe loves horses and kittens and also loves to play with her dolls and dress up jewelry. She loves any type of craft activity, watching videos with her brother, playing outside, and riding bikes. She likes to go swimming in her Grandma’s pool in the summer, play at her Nana’s farm, and have her Daddy give her horsey rides. Chloe’s family is grateful for her successful
surgery and are thankful that they live so close to an excellent facility such as DeVos Children’s Hospital. They thank God for wrapping them in His love and comfort through their difficult time and they hope someday Chloe will be able to see that His hand is upon her and trust that He is working in her life.