On February 13, 2002 I gave birth to a 5 pound 5 ounce baby girl named Serrin Elyse.  She was so beautiful and perfect.  The sweetest baby I had ever seen, an angel.  Shortly after our baby girl had entered the world she had to have an operation to correct a birth defect called Duodenal Artesia which her father and I had been told the baby had 3 weeks prior to her being born so we were somewhat prepared.  We were told that she should recover within 2 weeks and be home.  We tried to explain this to Serrin's 4 year old sister, Regan.  But none of us were prepared for what was soon to come.

Serrin's first surgery was a complete success and she pulled through like a champ.  The next day was Valentine's Day and our hearts were filled with so much love and joy.  That morning our hearts were broken when the doctor's discovered that Serrin had also been born with a congenital heart disease and
and had 4 heart defects, 2 of which were life threatening and had to be repaired with open heart surgery as soon as possible.  Shortly after hearing the horrific news our baby was transported to Children's Hospital where she remained for 52 days. 

We went to be with her everyday.  Words can't describe how we felt seeing our precious baby lying there, not being able to hold her or care for her the way we wanted to.  Serrin had bad days and good days while waiting for her heart surgery to happen. 

A week after Serrin was in the hospital we were told that she had Glaucoma in both eyes.  We were devastated to say the least.  It seemed as if one terrible thing after the other was happening.  The doctor's did every test imaginable but couldn't offer any explanations as to why Serrin had been born so ill. 

The open heart surgery finally took place on March 8, 2002 by an incredible Pediatric Heart Surgeon and his surgical team.  We were so scared that day but with much gratitude and appreciation we had been blessed once again and Serrin came through that surgery too.  Her heart had been repaired and was working fine.  We were so thankful to God and everyone whom made it possible.  We learned that with several eye surgeries including cornea transplants that Serrin's vision could somewhat be corrected.   At this point it seemed that things were looking up and we had some relief.

We thought the worst was over and that we had jumped over our highest hurdles.  Serrin slowly recovered from surgery and grew stronger by the day.   On April 3, 2002 she was released from the hospital.  That was the happiest day for everyone.  The day we had all hoped and prayed for had arrived.  The dream of taking our bundle of joy home was coming true. For the next 22 days we were all very happy and very busy caring for Serrin and her sister, Regan.  We quickly settled into a routine and were doing well.  It wasn't easy, we were exhausted but it was worth it.  Just one look into Serrin's angelic face kept us going. 

Serrin was a good baby and very patient with her family.  We had a lot to learn in a short time about how to care for Serrin's special needs.  We were managing and adjusting to the frequent feeding, administrating medications and lots of trips to all of her doctors appointments and in the meantime soaking up every minute of the 4 of us being a happy family.  The doctor's were very pleased with Serrin's progress.  She was growing and gaining weight and it was obvious she was happy to be at home.  We could not have been happier.

After the third week of being home Serrin became very ill.  After 3 visits to her pediatrician that week we rushed her to the emergency room where we were told by the doctors that Serrin was in complete respiratory failure and cardiac failure due to a viral infection.  Every type of life support machine in the hospital was used in an attempt to save our daughter's life.  That earnest attempt went on for 4 days and 4 nights.  On the 5th day the doctor informed us that Serrin wasn't going to recover this time.  The infection had attacked all of her major organs including her brain, kidneys and liver.  Her little body had shut down.  We knew Serrin had been very strong and fought some huge battles and won them but now she was too tired to win the war. 

Her family gathered around her and we all told her how much we loved her and how proud we were of her.  At 3 PM on April 29, 2002 all of the life support machines were turned off as my angel baby was placed into my arms.  I rocked her and told her how much I loved her until she went to Heaven to be with God.  We'll be trying to mend our broken hearts forever.

Now Serrin is well and full of peace, which is what her name means.  We know she is one of God's Angels, because she was born with wings, she was just waiting to fly.

~BABY GOODRICH~

~DAKOTA E. MOORE~

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