The Heart of A Lion - Mia’s CHD Journey

06/11/2023

😍

Flowers are never enough 🌸💫

12/20/2020

We made it home! Thank you God for keeping us safe on the road and to all of you for your prayers. ❤️

It was a long, yet quick, 3 weeks away from home. We are so thankful to my dad and Candi Mascorro for letting us take over their RV while we were in Houston. 🙌🏼

Here are a few pictures from today’s drive home. 🥰

12/19/2020

Today’s visit went well and we are READY to go home! We are so thankful to Texas Children’s Hospital for the excellent care Mia received, but we hope not to be back for a long time! 😬

Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers! Merry Christmas, everyone!

With Love,
The De Leons

12/15/2020

We are home! Kinda 😬

Mia was released today and our little family is together again ❤️ We will be staying in Houston for the rest of the week, as Mia has a follow up on Friday and we are required to stay in the area for about 1 week post-op (just in case).

We continue to thank God for getting us to this point. Hospital life is not easy, but Mia is just the right kind of feisty to get through it like she did.

Sending our love to all of you!

12/13/2020

Mia, you are more loved than you will ever know and stronger than you could ever imagine. I have felt every emotion possible in the last 10 days, but my love and admiration for you has helped me get by. I am so proud to be your mommy, Mia.

Thank you to all who kept us close to your heart during the this time. We also give thanks to our God for keeping His healing hands over Mia and our family. And I know Mia also has a special guardian angel looking out for her, grandma Celi. ❤️ We love you, Mom.



We are hoping to be discharged tomorrow (pending a couple of scans) and will then spend the next week or so in Houston. The hospital changed their visitation policies on Monday, so only one parent has been allowed in the hospital since then. I selfishly decided I would be the one to stay and I know Misa dying without his baby girl. We miss dada so much!

As far as Mia’s surgical outcome - it was a success! She had a few setbacks that kept us in the hospital a little longer (JET, junctional rhythm, chest tube drainage volume), but our girl pulled through. Mia will need another procedure down the road, mostly likely in another 8-10 years or so. We were hopeful that this surgery would be the only one, but her pulmonary valve could no be spared and will need to be replaced at some point. We will worry about that when the time comes and her cardiologists will continue to monitor her heart function as she grows.

I don’t think I could ever find the words to describe how grateful we are for all the love, support, donations, and prayers we have received- we are incredibly blessed to have all of you in our lives. We could not have gotten this far without y’all. We are sending so much love to each of you!

12/10/2020

Hi everyone, tia Amanda here with a little update:
Our Mia girl is out of the CICU and graduated into a regular room - go Mia! She still has her chest tubes in, which are draining out all the junk. She will most likely have them another day or two. Doctors have not set a discharge date, but we’re praying she goes home soon! Every day we see a little bit of her silly personality shine through. Through the exhausting, crazy days and nights, she keeps mommy and daddy smiling! We thank you all tremendously for all the love, support and prayers! We ask that you continue to keep Mia, her parents, doctors and family in your thoughts! We love y’all so much! ♥️

Here’s a short video of miss independent 🤣♥️

12/07/2020

Just wanted to give everyone a little update on our Mia girl:
Mia is recovering well but has had some arrhythmias, meaning her heart is not beating “normally.” Also, her heart rate is a bit above what’s normal for her, and doctor’s have continued to monitor her closely. She’s also been diagnosed with JET (Junctional Ectopic Tachycardia). It’s difficult to define but to sum it up, her repaired heart is having some trouble adjusting to its new functions. Doctors are changing her medications and figuring out the best route to get everything under control, which could mean a longer than anticipated stay in the hospital. We are leaning hard on our faith and take some comfort in knowing Mia is in one of the best hospitals in the country. We ask for continued prayers for Mia, Anyssa, Misa, family and the doctors.
As always, we are eternally grateful for the prayers, support and everyone who has text, called and reached out to ask about our precious girl. We love you all very much! ♥️

12/04/2020

Mia, Warrior Princess! Mia is resting and recovering well! She’s still on some pretty strong pain meds, but they are slowly weaning her off. She’s getting a ton of rest, which is great. Mom and dad finally got to hold her after an over 24 hour wait and they’re overjoyed to be by baby girl’s side! Mia still has a long road ahead of her, but one of the hardest days is behind us and we look forward to recovery! Thank you all for being a part of her journey ♥️

12/03/2020

Mia is out of surgery, resting and mommy & daddy are right by her side. We are forever grateful for the love, prayers and support we have received. We ask that you continue to prayer for a speedy recovery and strength for Mia’s parents and they continue to navigate through this journey. Thank you God for your blessings! ♥️

12/03/2020

Update: Surgery is progressing well without any complications. They are just about done with the repair. They will check to make sure the procedure “worked” and everything is good - using a TEE (a type of ultrasound test.) If all is well, then they move to closing her up which can take up to two hours. If they need to go back in, then it will be longer.

We continue to ask for prayers for our sweet girl, mommy and daddy! 💕💕

12/03/2020

Update: Dr. Calderone is still working on Mia and she remains stable. She is currently on a heart bypass machine. This means a machine is working in place of her heart while the doctor does the repair. It’s a critical time, but Mia is doing great!

Thank you for continued prayers ♥️

12/03/2020

Hi friends and family! Just an quick update: Mia was at the hospital bright and early this morning at 6:30. Her surgery began around 9 AM. I will continue to update periodically. Thank you for your continued love and prayers! ♥️