February is American Heart Month, and some North Texas families who’ve received lifesaving surgeries are showing their appreciation and raising awareness.
One of those patients is 2-year-old Gigi Leonard, who went through a 10-hour surgery to fix a life-threatening heart condition. NBC 5 spoke with Gigi’s parents and the surgeon who helped her make it through.
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WATCH HEREToday, Gigi Leonard is a smiling, energetic two-year-old. But in the hours after her birth, her outlook wasn’t so sunny.
“They just kind of told us that her heart was born backwards,” said John Leonard, the girl’s father. “That if they hadn’t caught it, we would have ended up having to come back to the hospital and it would have been much, much worse.”
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SIGN UP Gigi had a hole in her heart and a rare condition called corrected transposition.
She had her first heart surgery at one month old, but still needed a permanent fix to avoid needing a heart transplant.
The family turned to Children’s Health and Dr. Nicholas Andersen.
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“So this heart defect was really one of the most complicated heart defects that any child can be born with,” said Dr. Andersen.
Shortly after her first birthday, Dr. Andersen led an operation to fix Gigi’s heart condition, a surgery that ended up taking 10 hours.
“I would say they were probably the longest 10 hours of our lives,” said Amanda Leonard, Gigi’s mother.
“They made this, you know, the worst experience a parent can go through, they did everything they could to put us at ease,” said John Leonard.
The surgery was a success.
Gigi’s heart condition was reversed, and doctors say she’ll be able to grow up playing sports and living a healthy life.
During this American Heart Month, her family says they’re grateful to be a success story that could help others in need.
“It’s been tough, but I mean to look at her, to see her smile, to see her run around and do all that, it’s worth it, it really is worth it,” said John Leonard.
