This is my great-niece, Serenity, the precious daughter of my niece, Tylee Hardman, and her husband, Jay. My heart breaks changing this story to her fight is over. Our focus now shifts to helping lay her to rest.

I want to share her story.

Serenity was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), a severe and rare congenital heart defect in which the left side of her heart was severely underdeveloped and unable to effectively pump blood to her body. With this condition, the right side of her heart had to take on the enormous workload of pumping blood to both her lungs and her entire body. HLHS is a life-threatening condition that requires several staged surgeries in an effort to allow the heart to function.

At just 3 days old, Serenity underwent her first open-heart surgery, the first stage of her heart repair, called the Norwood procedure. The hope was that she would eventually be strong and stable enough for her second open-heart surgery, the Glenn procedure, around 4 months old, followed by the Fontan procedure when she was around 2–3 years old.

Unfortunately, Serenity encountered several setbacks following her Norwood procedure that put her into active heart failure. She was never able to become stable enough to come home and never knew life outside of the cardiac ICU.

Her parents never got to experience so many of the simple moments we often take for granted...bringing their baby home, and simply experiencing everyday life together as a family. Those things may seem small, but they were moments they desperately longed to have with their baby girl. Without a doubt, this has been the hardest thing they have ever experienced.

Serenity fought every single day. The hope and prayer was always that she could remain stable enough to make it to the next stage of surgery. When that became increasingly difficult, the possibility of a heart transplant became another part of an already unimaginable journey. We prayed desperately for a miracle and held onto hope alongside her every step of the way.

Our precious Ren fought with everything her little heart had. Sadly, her fight has now come to an end.

Although her time here was far too short, Serenity's life mattered. She was deeply loved from the moment she entered this world, and she touched more lives than she could ever have known. Her fight is over, but her love lives on.

So many of you have reached out throughout Serenity's journey asking how you could support this family. Your prayers, kind messages, encouragement, and generosity have meant more than words can express. They never planned on asking for help, but we believe God works through people, and so many of you have already shown His love by walking alongside them through the most difficult days of their lives.

Now, as they face the unimaginable task of saying goodbye to their baby girl, our focus has shifted to helping relieve as much of the financial burden as possible so they can grieve, honor Serenity's life, and lay their little warrior to rest.

Any contribution will help with funeral and memorial expenses, remaining medical expenses, lost income, and everyday expenses as their family navigates the days ahead. More than anything, we ask that you continue to surround them in prayer that God would carry them through a grief no parent should ever have to know and provide the peace, comfort, and strength that only He can give.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for loving Serenity, praying for her, fighting alongside her, and now helping us honor the beautiful little life she lived.

Her fight is over. Her love lives on. Forever our little warrior, forever our Ren. ❤️