This weekend marks the start of Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week, a time to highlight a condition that affects about one in 100 babies during pregnancy and can change families’ lives forever. For Laura and Daniel Valencia, that reality became clear during a routine 20-week ultrasound, whe n doctors delivered a devastating diagnosis for their unborn daughter, Michaela. Now almost nine months old, Michaela has already undergone three heart surgeries, the first when she was just three days old. Despite the challenges, her mother describes a baby full of joy and determination. Laura Valencia said her daughter loves eating fruit, eggs and beans and is always smiling — a sweet temperament matched by remarkable resilience. “Very, very strong. She is my warrior baby,” Valencia said. Doctors diagnosed Michaela with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare and serious congenital heart defect discovered during the second trimester of pregnancy. “Hypoplastic left heart syndrome or HLHS is an effect of the heart where the left side is too small to pump blood to the rest of the body,” said Dr. Maria Ossa Galvis with Children’s Health. Galvis said HLHS occurs in about 1% of the population. The cause is not yet known and is not preventable, but early detection by ultrasound between 18 and 20 weeks of pregnancy is critical. “It gives us all the time for the medical team to be prepared for when they come to have the appropriate interventions,” Galvis said. Without a prenatal diagnosis, Galvis said babies with HLHS can become critically ill within hours or days of birth. “While some children will one day need a heart transplant, life expectancy has improved with science and awareness,” Galvis said. “This is common. We can diagnose prenatally. We can prepare medically — and the families, you are not alone, we are here to support every step of the way.” She added that while the diagnosis brings fear and uncertainty, it also unites families and medical teams in working toward the best possible outcomes. Michaela’s journey is far from over. She is expected to undergo a fourth heart surgery in the coming years as she continues to fight and thrive. ...read more read less