Hi everyone! For those that don’t know me, my name is Alyssa Medlin.

For six years,I have desperately tried to complete my family through several different rounds of fertility treatments, finally being successful with the implantation of an embryo nine months ago through a round of IVF. Delivering our sweet baby boy was the greatest moment of my life, which was quickly stolen, as a blue baby was placed on my chest. There was never an initial cry.

The nurses whisked him away, and the next time we saw our sweet little Rowan, he was on a stretcher, being transferred to a nearby children’s hospital.

Rowan was diagnosed with D- transposition of the great arteries, meaning his two major arteries in his heart are flipped. Our stay in the NICU has just begun, as he will have open heart surgery on December 27th, with an estimated 2 week stay in the CICU, if everything goes exactly to plan, and then a minimum of 6weeks after care at home, being extra cautious as his chest heals back together.

I am not good for asking for help which is why I don’t do it, so I just wanted to put this out there and explain my story and what challenges we are facing. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and I really do wish everyone the best Christmas.