GoFundMe
A baby girl who spent almost the first two years of her life in a hospital was eventually cleared to go home.
On March 24, Valentina Garnetti left CS Mott Children’s Hospital of the University of Michigan for the first time in her young life, Good morning America report.
The toddler, who was born in May 2019, spent a total of 694 days at the facility after her birth, according to a GoFundMe page set up by her mother, Francesca Garnetti.
Francesca wrote that Valentina was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare heart condition that caused the left side of her heart to be underdeveloped, according to the Mayo Clinic. Because the heart cannot pump enough blood through the body, babies born with the condition can have a poor pulse rate, breathing problems and poor nutrition, among other things.
During her time in the children’s hospital, Valentina underwent a total of six surgeries, four of which were open heart surgeries, her mother explained on the page.
“In addition to her major surgeries, she had complications after complication, including strokes, seizures, anaphylactic reactions and was transferred to Philadelphia Children’s Hospital for 9 days to undergo a life-saving procedure before being flown back to Michigan,” Francesca recalled the description. of the donation page, which raised nearly $ 2,000 from Friday afternoon.
RELATED: Baby with life-threatening disabilities treated with special photo shoots: ‘She is full of love’
GoFundMe
One in every 3,841 babies in the United States is born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
While there will be even more treatments along the way, the family is delighted that Valentina is home and can spend their time with her sisters, Gianna (5) and Adriana (1).
RELATED: Newborn baby photographer takes newborn portraits of signature meals from local restaurants
“She’s the happiest baby in the whole world, despite everything she’s been through,” Francesca said GMA. “She’s the greatest joy. She loves everyone … she really loves her life.”
So far, Valentina has enjoyed her new environment as much as possible.
RELATED VIDEO: Baby hears parents’ voices for the first time
“She just looks around and you can see the awe and amazement,” Francesca told WXYZ. “It’s just all the new things she’s never seen before.”
“It’s so wonderful,” she said. “I mean, I thought it would never happen some days, and now it’s like a dream come true, now it’s finally here.”