Support Sophia Grace's Heart Surgery Journey

Kimmy and Isaac currently reside in Princeton, MN with Isaac’s wonderful 9 year old daughter and their dog Jethro. It’s been a long journey for parenthood as they struggled with infertility and had a doctor scare/testing done where they were told they may not be able to get pregnant on their own. Over a year later after hearing that news, they were blessed with finding out they were pregnant with a baby girl coming at the end of July.

Following two unsuccessful tests at regular ultrasounds, they were asked to be seen at the MFM hospital. At there 28-week visit, they were hit with some devastating news that there baby girl in which they hoped and prayed for, had a severe heart condition called HLHS (hypoplastic left heart syndrome) where the underdeveloped heart prevents the left side from pumping blood to the body and without treatment, there’s no way of survival in the initial first days/weeks of life.

They were given two options:

1. To have the baby and pursue palliative/comfort care by letting their baby die naturally (from a few hours/weeks of life)

2. To have the baby and pursue a path of very risky heart surgeries and the potential of heart transplant down the road.

The two desired to pursue the 2nd option in hopes that there baby girl had a fighting chance. Just days after finding out about this condition and their world being turned upside down, they were set up with many consultations, ultrasounds echos, etc. to see how severe her heart condition was. They met with a cardiologist who expressed a pretty significant concern about her coronary sinusoids and didn’t think she could handle all 3 major surgeries, and that a heart transplant or different procedure would be a better potential outcome for her. Due to this, they met with the heart transplant team to discuss how that process works as well.

Kimmy and Isaac were told by their doctors that induction was the best outcome for their babies chance of survival, and were set to be induced on Monday July 21st.

On July 22nd at 3:26 in the morning, they welcomed their beautiful baby girl Sophia Grace Gillson into the world weighing 7lbs, 2 oz and 18’. Unable to hold her right when she was born, they were able to take a quick picture with her until she was quickly sent off with her team to start working on echos and all the necessary things she needed.

The first few days for them were intense with many people coming in to talk to them to discuss next steps and mentioned that the severe concern they saw in the echo when pregnant, wasn’t as significant of a concern and they would follow through with the first surgery (Norwood)

On Thursday July 25th, just 3 days old Sophia had her very first open heart surgery. Kimmy and Isaac had a few hours to snuggle their baby girl until she was sent off to her 8 hour long surgery. The surgeon came and talked to them once surgery was complete and said she did amazing and as of now he has no concerns.

In doing rounds this morning, the doctors were able to discuss how she’s been doing. They said she’s gotten through the most critical part of her 24-48 hour mark, but still has a lot of time to go for the 48 hour threshold. They are saying her stats/screenings are looking good, but are watching her lactate pretty close due to it being pretty low and her heart rate being higher than they would like it. They slowly started dropping her oxygen levels down and is taking that pretty well.

Kimmy and Isaac are doing okay as much as expected due to the circumstance they are in. Seeing her after surgery was really rough as her chest is still open due to swelling, but know that their baby girl is in great hands and are waiting for every moment Sophias team tells them more good news.

Sophia is not only a warrior, but a strong fighter and they are proud to call her theirs. Moving forward, they will be working with speech, occupational therapists, and dietitians so they can be taught how to take care of her when she is finally able to come home. They have a long road ahead with many uncertainties and surgeries/potential of a heart transplant down the road, but know she is in the best care possible.

Should you choose to donate, the money will be used for gas/hotel and food, as they are unable to get into Ronald McDonald at this time, they will also be using the money towards upcoming medical bills for Sophia. If you would prefer to donate through Venmo, Kimmy’s Venmo is: @Kimmy-Quale

We will also be posting updates as we get them from Kimmy and Isaac about how Sophia is doing. Please feel free to share this page, and follow along! Thank you!