{"id":182502,"date":"2018-05-15T09:44:56","date_gmt":"2018-05-15T13:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=182502"},"modified":"2018-05-14T23:48:43","modified_gmt":"2018-05-15T03:48:43","slug":"oliver-moms-hero-heart-defects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/oliver-moms-hero-heart-defects\/","title":{"rendered":"Oliver’s mom says he’s a ‘hero’… and other babies can be, too, if given a chance"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

At the Children’s Colorado Foundation,\u00a0pediatric intensive care nurse\u00a0Becca Kalivas shares the story of her son<\/a>, Oliver, whom she calls “my hero.” After struggling with infertility for seven years, she and her husband Alex finally conceived a son… only to learn at a 20-week ultrasound that\u00a0their son had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a congenital condition in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped. She writes:<\/p>\n

We left the appointment in a fog, not knowing what was ahead for our little boy and family. After a few weeks, we reached out to Dr. Bettina Cuneo, a fetal cardiologist at Children\u2019s Hospital Colorado. Just 12 minutes later, she responded to my email and provided us with so much comfort. But more importantly, she gave us hope, leading us to choose the Children\u2019s Colorado Fetal Care Center for our son\u2019s care.<\/p>\n

In April 2017, at 25 weeks pregnant, we were told our baby was in heart failure and may not live. Again, our amazing care team at Children\u2019s Colorado put their heads together and figured out how to save our little boy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n