Nehemiah's Story

"I was 20 weeks pregnant when they thought there was something wrong with Nehemiah’s spine. So they sent me to a specialist to get a more in-depth ultrasound, which is when they found out he had hypoplastic left heart syndrome. From there we had to see a doctor almost every week…”

“The cardiologist at VCU referred us to UVA. … Nehemiah was born on April 1st and he had his first heart surgery on April 4th. … He was in recovery for months. We were about to go home in June and he got a blood infection that could have been fatal for him.That put him in for 6 more weeks.

“First we stayed at hotels for a couple of nights. … We had to go up to the hospital on weekends and alternate the children. It was really hard leaving them and family being apart.

"Our social worker told us about The Alyssa House. We were all able to stay at the house and spend with Nehemiah at the hospital every day. We were all together.

“I think this is a wonderful thing, and we are so appreciative. I don’t know how to express how it felt, just being able to come home to my whole family. ... I don’t think y’all understand how grateful I am.”