Sofia Freebairn Precious heart
Donation protected
My name is Diana, I am 34 years old, Colombian. In the last year my expectations for being a mother grew even though I always thought that in this world we live in now is very hard to rise a child.
I was for one year studying english and working in Australia and I decided to go back to my country. I was doing jobs that required a lot of physical effort and was really exhausted.
And I was missing my culture, my family, the close people I appreciate and my days when I ran my own company: a clothing store that I sold to fund my trip through Australia.
When I returned to Colombia, I heard a news I suspected: I was pregnant.
It was a big emotional shock as the father of my future baby is an Australian citizen and our relationship was not very consolidated by that time; nevertheless and despite the circumstances in which I was, my soul was infused with infinite happiness and I could not have been grateful to heaven for having become a future mother.
Once Lachlan knew the news did not hesitate for a second to want to be part of our life and began to organize his life around Sofia.
Lachlan traveled immediately to Colombia with the idea of staying there and being able to work since although it was ideal that Sophia was born in Australia, immigration laws are very complicated and medical expenses for non-Australians are very expensive. Almost impossible.
At week 16 we attended to perform the routine ultrasound in which they confirmed that we was expecting a girl. We already had the name, SOFIA.
We were really happy and excited about the idea of being a girl's parents.
However, after the good news about the gender, the doctor who attended us told us that the left ventricle of the heart of sofia had not developed, was very small, and gave us the diagnosis that of sofia had one of the most complex heart diseases: Hypoplastic left heart syndrome or HLHS. Without at least 3 major lifesaving/palliative surgeries, babies with HLHS do not survive more than a few days.
"This baby is not compatible with life" were the last words we heard. I can not describe how devastating this revelation was.
Heart transplant is one of the best options but there are not enough hearts available for babies in the world and in countries like Colombia the mortality rates are much higher than in developed countries, for that reason we began to organize my trip to Australia so that, despite the high costs, sofia could be born there, and could receive better medical care.
I arrived in Australia with a tourist visa that allowed me to stay for only 3 months. I was 21 weeks pregnant at that time. Lachlan had to get a lawyer to help us get a family visa that would allow me to stay longer, at least a few months more, until Sofia received at least her first two surgeries which would save her life.
In the first ultrasound in Australia the doctors gave us the diagnosis that we had already received in Colombia, but this time they were more direct and clearer. We were given three options, to interrupt the pregnancy, to allow the pregnancy to come to an end, and after she was born to wait for her to die comfortably under medical supervision, or to perform 3 open-heart palliative surgeries. Our opcion was always the life! Sofia was going to live and have a beautiful, dignified and meaningful life.
The emotional load has been very hard too, it has been a trip with many ups and downs. We have had to deal with depression and anxiety, especially before and after the first surgery of sofia that was made 5 days after birth.
Because Lachlan is the only person with income in our family at the moment, is too hard for him to be able to focus on his job, and being able to spend time with Sofia as much as he can.
We don't like asking for a helping hand, but the financial stress is too much to bear alone.
We want to thank all of you, family, friends, acquaintances, for your messages of support, to send us your positive energy, for your visits, prayers and for always having us in your thoughts.
Any donation would literally mean the world to us!
thank you for supporting us and baby sofia!
If any english grammar mistakes, so sorry, I am still learning :)
I was for one year studying english and working in Australia and I decided to go back to my country. I was doing jobs that required a lot of physical effort and was really exhausted.
And I was missing my culture, my family, the close people I appreciate and my days when I ran my own company: a clothing store that I sold to fund my trip through Australia.
When I returned to Colombia, I heard a news I suspected: I was pregnant.
It was a big emotional shock as the father of my future baby is an Australian citizen and our relationship was not very consolidated by that time; nevertheless and despite the circumstances in which I was, my soul was infused with infinite happiness and I could not have been grateful to heaven for having become a future mother.
Once Lachlan knew the news did not hesitate for a second to want to be part of our life and began to organize his life around Sofia.
Lachlan traveled immediately to Colombia with the idea of staying there and being able to work since although it was ideal that Sophia was born in Australia, immigration laws are very complicated and medical expenses for non-Australians are very expensive. Almost impossible.
At week 16 we attended to perform the routine ultrasound in which they confirmed that we was expecting a girl. We already had the name, SOFIA.
We were really happy and excited about the idea of being a girl's parents.
However, after the good news about the gender, the doctor who attended us told us that the left ventricle of the heart of sofia had not developed, was very small, and gave us the diagnosis that of sofia had one of the most complex heart diseases: Hypoplastic left heart syndrome or HLHS. Without at least 3 major lifesaving/palliative surgeries, babies with HLHS do not survive more than a few days.
"This baby is not compatible with life" were the last words we heard. I can not describe how devastating this revelation was.
Heart transplant is one of the best options but there are not enough hearts available for babies in the world and in countries like Colombia the mortality rates are much higher than in developed countries, for that reason we began to organize my trip to Australia so that, despite the high costs, sofia could be born there, and could receive better medical care.
I arrived in Australia with a tourist visa that allowed me to stay for only 3 months. I was 21 weeks pregnant at that time. Lachlan had to get a lawyer to help us get a family visa that would allow me to stay longer, at least a few months more, until Sofia received at least her first two surgeries which would save her life.
In the first ultrasound in Australia the doctors gave us the diagnosis that we had already received in Colombia, but this time they were more direct and clearer. We were given three options, to interrupt the pregnancy, to allow the pregnancy to come to an end, and after she was born to wait for her to die comfortably under medical supervision, or to perform 3 open-heart palliative surgeries. Our opcion was always the life! Sofia was going to live and have a beautiful, dignified and meaningful life.
The emotional load has been very hard too, it has been a trip with many ups and downs. We have had to deal with depression and anxiety, especially before and after the first surgery of sofia that was made 5 days after birth.
Because Lachlan is the only person with income in our family at the moment, is too hard for him to be able to focus on his job, and being able to spend time with Sofia as much as he can.We don't like asking for a helping hand, but the financial stress is too much to bear alone.
We want to thank all of you, family, friends, acquaintances, for your messages of support, to send us your positive energy, for your visits, prayers and for always having us in your thoughts.
Any donation would literally mean the world to us!
thank you for supporting us and baby sofia!
If any english grammar mistakes, so sorry, I am still learning :)Organizer
Diana Cruz
Organizer
Petrie Terrace QLD
