On September 3rd 2014, proud parents,  Reinier and Jennifer, family and friends welcomed to the world Sofia Joy , weighing 7 pounds 6 ounces.  After a perfect night of bonding with their new bundle of joy, it came to their attention by the doctors and nurses that Sofia had a hole in her heart, a narrowing of her aortic artery an abnormal heart murmur and an irregular heartbeat. That afternoon Sofia Joy was rushed to a local children’s hospital for further testing and preparation for surgery. During an MRI of her heart they found she had HLHS - Hypoplastic left heart syndrome - a congenital heart defect that occurs when parts of the left side of the heart (mitral valve, left ventricle, aortic valve, and aorta) do not develop completely. Her family was told that she would need to undergo a procedure called the Norwood Procedure. It consists of 3 separate open heart surgeries. Without this intervention, hypoplastic left heart syndrome is uniformly fatal within the first weeks of life. Sofia has had her first open heart surgery and has suffered some complications. Sofia has gone into cardiac arrest twice after the procedure. She remains in critical care however showing signs of improvement.  We hope by Thanksgiving she will be strong enough on her own without the help of machines and monitors that she will be able to join her family at home for the first time. The journey this precious family is on will be a long one, however with the support of family, friends and the community, we can join together to help them in their time of need. We are asking not only for prayers but assistance to help this family with the cost of Sofia's medical bills now and in the future. Thank you for all your support!!