|
Twenty weeks into her pregnancy, Loreann and Ramiro learned that their unborn daughter had a heart condition; HLHS (Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome) with heterotaxy. The doctors explained that their baby’s heart was flipped backwards, and she only had 1 chamber instead of 4.
After little Adalee was born on July 17 in San Antonio, she was immediately flown to the Texas Children’s Cardiac ICU in the Texas Medical Center. Loreann and Ramiro, along with their two other children Arlette and Juero, arrived at the Ronald McDonald House on Holcombe Boulevard at 3 in the morning.
The very next day Adalee underwent the first of several surgeries to repair her heart. That grueling time was a blur for Loreann. “You’d wake up in the morning, spend all day at the hospital with her, then come back to sleep and shower. Then do it all over again, every day,” she recalls. “It was hard.”
Adalee was hospitalized in recovery for more than a month before being discharged to prepare for her next surgery. The family remained at Holcombe House while doctors monitored Adalee and prepared her for a second surgery in December.
“Even though it was a very difficult time, it was a blessing to be able to stay here,” says Ramiro. “Everyone from the volunteers to the staff to the cleaning crew were so kind and supportive.”
Loreann, Ramiro and their children spent the summer, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas and New Years at Holcombe House. It was their home away from home and it allowed them to stay close to Adalee’s lifesaving medical treatments. Finally, in late January 2024, Adalee was ready to go home to San Antonio for the very first time.
“I feel like we are stronger as a family,” says Ramiro. “Being here kept us together so we could support each other.”
Your donation makes it possible for families like Adalee's to stay together during times of medical crisis.
| 
