Caleigh Beauford 

Caleigh was diagnosed with Atrial Septal Defect on May 22, 2018, when she was just 1 day old. She stayed in NICU for a week until we were all released from the hospital together. Our family never truly faced any challenges after her diagnosis, because in all honesty, we tried not to dwell on it. We focused mostly on the fact we had an amazing, smart, beautiful, loving, happy, and thriving child. Caleigh started having cardiology appointments at 2 weeks, with Sibley Cardiology. Children’s Healthcare was introduced into our lives after being notified that is where Caleigh’s open heart surgery would take place.

CHOA did an exceptional job of exceeding our expectations during such a tough time. The staff and doctors were especially informative. Dr. Kanter performed Caleigh’s ASD repair, using the ‘Closure by Patch’ method and made sure we understood the surgical process. We knew our baby girl was in the hands of professionals and people that truly cared about their patients. Caleigh had such resilience she even got out of her bed and walked her unit the day after surgery, chest tube, IV’s and all! Kids at Heart was a huge part of keeping her spirits up! She loved every bit of getting visits from the therapy dog, Uno, as well as the food donations from other heart families. 

It is truly something special we carry in our hearts, the amount of care and thoughtfulness we received from Children’s during a very trying time for our family. Our hope came from our trust in the power of God and our grateful attitude that our child had a successful operation. Caleigh has conquered every step of recovery, follow ups and a sense of wisdom in understanding the uniqueness of her “zipper”. She continues to be a vibrant 4 year old that enjoys school, learning new things, swimming, gymnastics and being outdoors.

Watch Caleigh’s Story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ItIZaRAd3o&t=6s