Charlotte Blake’s Journey After Heart Transplant

03/12/2026

Just under a month until this girl is THREE!!

It is so crazy to think back to the little baby who had to fight every single minute to stay here with us. She has defied so many odds and I know there’s so much more to come!

She truly is the happiest little girl and thrives in all her therapies!

02/23/2026

Started off this Monday with some smiles and some speciality appointments! Our girl has officially been cleared from gastroenterology and is consistently staying on the growth chart!

Prayers as we will be doing the postponed CT on Wednesday this week now. We have a plan for Benadryl and the team will closely monitor her for a reaction. It’s always hard to hand her over to sedated but it is necessary for these procedures.

02/18/2026

Just a little update since the post yesterday… there was a hiccup in communication regarding Charlotte’s contrast allergy and various teams could not come to an agreement of a plan so the scan was canceled. It will hopefully be rescheduled with all the proactive measures in place soon. This scan is important to assess a repair that had to happen just a few days after she received her transplant and to just get a baseline how that area is functioning. This scan can provide better details than an echo or cath can. Prayers there can be a plan developed soon!

It is also mommy’s birthday today, happy birthday to Courtney! 🎉

Fun Fact: Charlotte’s mom & dad are just one day apart in age and big sis, Caroline is also a February baby! Charlotte had to be born in April to have her own month! 🤪

02/17/2026

Prayers today as Charlotte goes in for a CT of her heart. This is a planned scan not an emergency one, but as always it’s scary handing her over to be sedated. She has also had a severe reaction to the contrast but hopefully enough preventative measures are taken today.

It’s also her daddy’s birthday! So happy birthday to Blake!

02/15/2026

So thankful for the donor whose family chose to give the ultimate gift to us. We pray and think of you often! Happy National Donor day!

Day 14: Grief and Gratitude

Happy Valentine’s Day. And Happy National Donor Day.

For most of the world, today is about chocolates and flowers. For transplant families, it’s much deeper.

We live in the “And”:
We feel immense gratitude for the life beating inside our child’s chest, AND we feel profound grief for the family who made it possible.

Today, we honor the donors who said “yes” in their darkest hour.

We promise to care for this gift.
We promise to live life fully in their honor.
And we promise to never forget that life is a shared miracle.

To our donor family: Thank you.

02/06/2026

Charlotte’s favorite thing to do is shake her head no now!

*So sorry for the lack of updates recently, our area was impacted by lots of ice/sleet and life has been a little more chaotic than normal!

02/05/2026

Tomorrow is wear red day! Wear red in support of Charlotte and so many other little precious heart warriors! ❤️

This Friday, we wear red ❤️
For the heart warriors.
For the heart angels.
For every family affected by congenital heart disease.

Wear red. Share awareness.
Because CHD awareness matters — every day, but especially this month.

01/07/2026

We love to go up, up, up! 🫶🏼

12/31/2025

The beginning of 2025 to the end of 2025!

2025 was her year and I can’t wait to see what 2026 holds.

2025 accomplishments:
-We spent 99% of the year out of the hospital and at home!
-Charlotte has been a steady weight gainer!
-She says some words and is a noisy girl!
-She has started to thrive in therapy!
-She has a mouth full of teeth!
-She LOVES her toys and even likes to explore them with those teeth.
-She’s had a few bites of food but I think 2026 will be our year to get her eating more.
-She’s looking more and more like a big girl!
-She’s another year down with no transplant rejection!
-She sits unassisted.
-She stands unassisted with her braces 2-3 seconds. She can stand assisted much longer!
-She’s defied odds like always!
-Plus so much more!!

We truly are so grateful for all this girl accomplished this year and can’t wait to see what all she accomplishes in 2026. She truly is the strongest little baby and the biggest ray of sunshine.

12/12/2025

We are enjoying this Christmas season❤️🎄 #

12/12/2025

Big girl is thriving in therapy! This is a new piece of equipment we have been trialing and she has mastered walking backward with it. She taken a few steps forward so far and we are looking forward to getting her, her own one soon. She is getting so much stronger and has really been progressing so much. We are so proud of this girl!

*I do not own rights to the music.

12/02/2025

We are so thankful for these girls! We had a great Thanksgiving and looking forward to the Christmas season. Charlotte is a such a blessing and making so much progress 🥰

Photographer: Jentri Sneed Photography