A Joyful Heart

At 26 weeks pregnant, Ella’s parents were told that she had a congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). The lower left chamber of her heart was severely underdeveloped. After a thorough look, they found that Ella also had a highly restrictive atrial septum defect and the right side of her heart was not working properly. These two rare heart defects when combined made her case extremely complicated and risky. She was only given a 20% chance to live if her mother made it through the remaining weeks of pregnancy and birth.

Today, Ella is 5 years old and is one of the oldest survivors of these two combined conditions. She has gone through 8 heart procedures; 4 being open heart surgeries. She has blown the doctors away, and she is such a joy to her parents’ hearts!

Ella loves to be on stage and perform ballet and tapdance routines. She likes to dress up in fun costumes and spend lots of quality time with her two amazing parents Amy and Jon who affectionately call her their “Sunshine.”

Ella’s delightful Monsters, Inc. themed cake was provided by Sugar Angel Shanna Ardery of SugarBakers in Byars, OK. The tiered cake featured a super cute Boo topper and a fuzzy Sully inspired base that would melt even the scariest monsters heart! The family sends our Sugar Angel Shanna a big thank you for making their miracle girl’s birthday so very special!

See more of Ella’s story here!