Jane's Story

By: Sarah Finbow

Jane's congenital heart defect diagnosis came at 19 weeks gestation when we went for her anatomy scan. Leading up to that scan, we were more concerned about the sonographer not giving away the baby’s gender—but we could tell right away that the sonographer’s silence involved more than keeping the gender a surprise for us. Even I could see the hole in Jane's heart. 

After the scan, I remember going into work and telling my coworkers, "They think there is something wrong with the baby’s heart.” And in that moment the gravity of the whole situation set in, even before our first meeting with a pediatric cardiologist. Throughout the remaining weeks of my pregnancy, we learned Jane had several very complex heart defects. The odds of having all these defects was like hitting the worst possible lottery.

After Jane was born, it was determined that her heart defects—in combination with a few other issues—could not be fixed with surgery. We held our beautiful daughter for six days, never putting her down and loving her through her entire life.

There isn't a moment that goes by that we don't think of Jane. We wonder who she would have been and how she would have played with her sister, Sadie. We think about how, in one moment, our entire world was flipped upside down. We know that Jane’s doctors, nurses, and specialists were determined to do everything they could…and for that we are so grateful.

By working with The Children's Heart Foundation and its Congenital Heart Walk, we use our grief to bring hope to others. Maybe one day, through the research funded by The Children’s Heart Foundation, children like Jane will be able to live full, happy, healthy lives.