在她生命的头八个月里做了两次心脏手术

4岁的麦考伊·蒂茨沃斯见到了他的妹妹, 莫莉, 在她出生几小时后, 他抱着她被襁褓包裹着的身体，吻了吻她的脸颊. 她是他一直祈祷拥有的小妹妹.

一天后, 在威奇托的医院等待出院, 堪萨斯, 她的含氧量开始慢慢下降. 她呼吸时发出难以察觉的口哨声.

A nurse told 莫莉's parents, Janelle and Ryan, she was taking the newborn for more testing. Soon, a cardiologist told them 莫莉 was born with a congenital heart defect. A passageway for blood in her heart wasn't formed enough to do its job. It's called an interrupted aortic arch, and it required specialized treatment at another hospital.

莫莉 was airlifted to a 堪萨斯 City hospital a three-hour drive away.

那天麦考伊一直期待着欢迎他妹妹回家. Instead, Janelle kneeled to meet his eyes and said, "Your baby sister is with the doctors."

然后她和瑞恩带麦考伊去了幼儿园, not knowing how long it would be before they saw their son again or even if they would return with his sister.

他们一离开他，加内尔就哭了起来.

At the new hospital, about 30 people treated 莫莉 – in part because they'd discovered more problems.

莫莉的心脏上也有个洞. And she had aortic stenosis, restricting the blood flow in her heart. 由于她的年龄，医生对她进行了临时治疗. 当她一周大的时候，他们在她的心脏里放了一个支架.

莫莉在儿科重症监护室一直待到4周大. When she came home, McCoy kissed her and held her for several minutes. Janelle sobbed with joy as she watched a moment she'd feared might not happen.

莫莉 was able to return home because of a smartphone app the hospital used for monitoring.

“我们监视着她的每一个细节，必须记录下每一瓶酒, 尿布, 重量, 氧含量, color, 等.以及拍摄视频，”詹妮尔说.

By the time 莫莉 was 8 months old, she was ready for a permanent fix.

Surgeons reconstructed and patched her aortic arch, then repaired the hole in her heart. 她在医院住了五个星期.

"The doctor said that it was one of the riskiest surgeries he'd ever done,詹妮尔说:. 这让我的心都掉了下来."

Now 4, 莫莉 will need at least two more open-heart surgeries before she's done growing.

“人们问我下次手术会不会容易些，”瑞安说. “也许是医学上的, but emotionally it's only going to get harder on all of us because she can talk now and is more her own person."

新型冠状病毒肺炎大流行期间的生活更具挑战性, 特别是当真品, 现在9, 今年秋天他回到学校后感染了病毒.

“我们对莫利太小心了，”詹妮尔说. “甚至连链球菌和流感都令人担忧. 但我们要么把她关起来要么让她活下去. 我们竭尽全力."

与此同时，麦考伊正在享受他的小妹妹.

詹妮尔说:“看他们比赛太有趣了。. "They still fight like siblings, but he looks out for her and takes care of her. 他是她的忠实粉丝."

The family participated in this year's 美国心脏协会 Heart Walk in Wichita, 他们的团队是最大的筹款人.

“这整件事耗费了我们这么长十大电子游戏平台, 现在我们准备回馈社会,詹妮尔说:. "We have a huge support system from our friends, family and colleagues. They've been so generous and supportive during 莫莉's journey."

The couple also have leaned into their faith for support and felt blessed by the many prayers 莫莉 has received.

现在, 莫莉 is not aware of any limitations nor is she self-conscious about the scar from her surgery.

“如果你看见她的话, 你永远不会知道内部有什么问题, 直到你看到她的伤疤,”瑞恩说. 她试图跟上麦考伊的步伐，但并非总是如此. 我们想让她自己决定该逼自己多远. 唯一能限制莫莉的人就是莫莉."

来自内心的故事 chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.

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