It was January 26, 2004, when Thea came into this world. A roomful of doctors and nurses were there to welcome her. The baby girl who I had first seen in an ultrasound many months before was here. The baby girl with a fatal, but repairable heart condition and Down Syndrome. The chromosomes that would have formed a perfect baby girl went haywire the instant they collided. I was so scared for her and our family. What would happen to us if she didn't make it and what would happen to her/us if she did?

Back-up, to four months before at a routine ultrasound, the one that everyone looks forward to, the one where you can find out if you're having a boy or a girl, I caught my first glimpse of Thea. The day started out like any other day, and the appointment went well. My husband, Dana was there with our three year old daughter, Autumn. We all looked at the monitor and spied a future daughter and future little sister.

Two hours later, I got a phone call that would change my life forever. "There may be something wrong with your baby's heart . . . ," she said.

It was confirmed a few days later that our baby had a hole in her heart. We were also told that the type of defect she had was very common in babies who had other genetic abnormalities. An amniocentesis confirmed that we had a 99.9% chance of Trisomy 21, otherwise known as Down Syndrome. We were told if we wanted to go through with the pregnancy (95% of people don't) there would be monthly check-ups for the baby's heart and heart surgery at 3 to 6 months old.

So, after a lot of preparation, Thea was born in Boston and to our surprise was well enough to come home a day-and-a-half later. Having Thea at home didn't last though. After many feeding sessions that used up more calories than she was taking in, she ended up back in the hospital for "failure to thrive" twice before finally undergoing open-heart surgery at Boston Children's Hospital at 2 1/2 months old. Her body just couldn't make it to the 3 month mark or to the 11 lb weight range the doctors would have liked her to be. We were told at the time that the surgery was successfull.

Over the years, other unexpected problems would occur such as hypothyroidism, detected in the newborn screening exam, three eye surgeries, and more trouble with her heart that will require a few more surgeries.

Patience has become my best virtue. Thea goes by her own inner clockwork. I appreciate every skill she has acquired and can see just how amazing the learning process is. Thea cheers for herself when she does something she's proud of. She laughs a lot, she sings (a little), she walks, she runs, she jumps, she dances. She will go far.

Everybody's different, that's what makes us special. Thea is special. Que sera, sera.

We picked a name that had a positive meaning behind it. "Thea" is her full name but it is a variation of the name Althea which means "to heal." Her middle name, "Victoria," means "victory." So put it all together and you get "to heal with victory."