From the very first moment she entered the world, Mia chose courage over fear.
She was born with melaniform nevus—a rare and serious congenital skin condition that would shape the earliest chapters of her life. Long before she could understand words like diagnosis, risk, or surgery, Mia was already fighting battles most people never have to face in an entire lifetime.
From the day she was born, doctors knew Mia’s journey would not be easy. Her condition required constant monitoring, careful medical intervention, and the reality of multiple surgeries at a very young age. Hospital rooms, sterile hallways, and the cold glow of fluorescent lights became familiar places—backdrops to a childhood marked not by ordinary routines, but by resilience.
At just five years old, Mia has endured more medical procedures, hospital stays, and moments of uncertainty than many adults ever will. Each surgery carried its own risks. Each procedure brought anxiety, pain, and long recoveries. And with every scar left behind, there is a story—one of bravery, survival, and strength far beyond her years.
Yet through it all, Mia has never been defined by fear.
Time and time again, she has faced the unknown with a quiet courage that leaves everyone around her in awe. While the adults in the room held their breath, Mia kept going. While worry filled the air, she chose resilience. Even when her small body bore the weight of overwhelming challenges, her spirit remained unshaken.
Her parents have stood by her side through every moment—every procedure, every sleepless night, every whispered prayer in hospital rooms. From the very beginning, they knew Mia was extraordinary. Not because of her condition, but because of the strength she carried within her heart. Watching their daughter face pain with bravery has changed them forever.
“There were moments we were terrified,” her mother once shared. “Moments where we didn’t know what the next step would bring. But Mia never stopped showing us what true strength looks like. She has taught us how to keep going, even when things feel impossible.”
Despite the medical challenges that surround her life, Mia remains a radiant source of joy. She laughs freely. She plays without hesitation. She smiles with a warmth that fills every room she enters. Her happiness is not fragile—it is powerful. It exists not because her life is easy, but because she chooses joy in the face of hardship.
Mia’s story is not just about surviving—it is about living fully. While many children her age worry about toys, school, or games, Mia has already learned lessons about courage, patience, and perseverance that most people never truly understand. And yet, she remains wonderfully, beautifully a child—curious, playful, and full of light.
Her laughter echoes through hospital halls that have known too much silence. Her presence brings comfort to worried hearts. She reminds everyone who meets her that even in the most uncertain moments, hope can still take root and grow.
The strength Mia carries does not come from her body—it comes from her spirit. She has shown that fear does not have to define a life. That hardship does not get the final word. That love, when it surrounds us, has the power to transform even the hardest battles into stories of triumph.
As her journey continues, there will still be challenges ahead. There will be more appointments, more uncertainty, and moments where courage will be tested once again. But Mia has already proven something extraordinary: she is stronger than her circumstances.
Her story is a reminder to all of us that the human spirit is boundless. That bravery can exist in the smallest hearts. That even the most fragile lives can shine with incredible strength.
Mia is not just a patient. She is not just a diagnosis. She is a symbol of hope.
Her journey teaches us that we all face moments where fear feels overwhelming—but we always have a choice. We can let fear hold us back, or we can move forward with courage, love, and faith.
And every single day, Mia shows us exactly what that choice looks like.
She chooses courage.
A Day We Prayed For: Brayden’s Journey Through Surgery
Today marks a deeply pivotal moment in Brayden’s journey — a day we have carried in our hearts for months with equal parts fear, hope, and relentless prayer. It is the day we have both longed for and dreaded, the day his long-awaited surgery finally became a reality.
Early this morning, just after 6:30 a.m., the moment arrived. We walked beside Brayden as the nurses prepared to take him back. Papers were signed, the procedure reviewed one final time, and reality settled heavily on our hearts. As we made our way down the hallway, Brayden’s eyes caught sight of a wall filled with brand-new donated toys. He paused and chose a small frog ball — a simple, unexpected moment that felt like a sign straight from heaven. My late Maw-Maw Mary loved frogs, and the words that came to mind were Fully Rely On God. In the middle of fear, it made me smile.
The surgical team was large, calm, and incredibly prepared — a reminder of just how serious this surgery was. Brayden was scared, as any child would be, yet in a moment that will stay with me forever, he tried to comfort me, telling me to take a deep breath. I prayed over him and over every hand that would care for him, kissed his forehead, and watched as they wheeled him away.
And then something unexpected happened. Yes, tears came — but so did peace. A deep, unexplainable peace that could only come from God. In my spirit, I kept hearing, “I’ve got him. I’ve got him.” That reassurance carried us through the waiting. My husband and I returned to our room and did our best to pass the time — praying, singing, watching movies — anything to quiet our anxious hearts.
Throughout the day, we were surrounded by love. Messages, texts, and prayers poured in nonstop, and every single one mattered. They lifted us when the waiting felt unbearable. We truly felt carried by the prayers of others.
In the days leading up to surgery, we had received countless signs that God was guiding every step — the timing, the date, the doctors, the technology. Fear never fully took hold because faith filled the space it tried to enter.
We were blessed with hourly updates during surgery, which brought comfort and clarity. The medical team used advanced technology, including EEGs and intraoperative MRIs, to ensure the safest outcome possible. During one MRI, the surgeon noticed a small amount of remaining tissue and made the decision to remove it immediately — a moment of quick thinking that brought tremendous relief. Brayden’s vitals remained stable throughout, and the surgery itself went smoothly.
When we finally saw him afterward, there he was — sleepy, sore, but still Brayden. Cracking jokes. Being silly. Smiling. I even told him he didn’t need to smile after having brain surgery — but that’s just who he is.
In true dad fashion, Brayden’s daddy spent part of the afternoon trying to jump-start my car in the parking lot before heading home to be with our strong big kids. Life keeps moving, even in the middle of miracles.
During surgery, I felt led to give back. Thanks to your overwhelming generosity, nearly $1,300 was raised for Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and the Epilepsy Foundation, split evenly. We are deeply humbled and grateful for every donation, every prayer, and every word of encouragement.
While the road ahead still includes recovery and healing, today is a victory. A reminder of God’s faithfulness. A testament to Brayden’s strength. And proof that we never walk these journeys alone.
Please continue to pray for Brayden as he heals. Thank you for standing with us, loving us, and lifting us when we needed it most.
Together, we keep fighting.
We keep praying.
And we keep believing. 🤍
Gracelynn’s Heart: A Tiny Warrior’s Extraordinary Fight
Meet Gracelynn — a little girl whose strength has rewritten every expectation.
At just nine months old, Gracelynn has already faced more than most people do in a lifetime. Her journey began long before she ever took her first breath.
At her 20-week anatomy scan, her parents were told something didn’t look right. What was meant to be a routine appointment quickly turned into fear and uncertainty when they were referred to a maternal-fetal medicine specialist due to abnormal findings. Two weeks later, at 22 weeks pregnant, they received news no parent is ever prepared for — Gracelynn had a congenital heart defect. The diagnosis was still unclear, but they were told she would need to be followed closely by a fetal cardiologist.
Despite countless appointments and scans, doctors were unable to fully understand what was wrong with her heart until she was born. On April 24, 2024, Gracelynn arrived full term — a beautiful baby girl welcomed into the world with so much love. But her fight began immediately. Shortly after birth, she was admitted to the NICU at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital due to severe feeding intolerance. While there, she underwent numerous echocardiograms and EKGs, which finally revealed the truth: Gracelynn had Double Outlet Right Ventricle and a very large ventricular septal defect (VSD).
Her parents’ world changed overnight.
On September 17, 2024, at just five months old, Gracelynn underwent her first open-heart surgery to repair the VSD. The surgery was successful, but her journey was far from over. In November, a follow-up echocardiogram revealed devastating news — another hole in her heart had been missed.
In December 2024, Gracelynn underwent a detailed CT scan of her heart. Doctors even created a 3D-printed model of her heart to better understand the complexity of her condition. The newly discovered defect was in an extremely difficult and dangerous location — hidden behind heart muscle and dangerously close to her aortic valve.
On January 28, 2025, Gracelynn faced her second open-heart surgery. This time, the procedure required over three hours on the bypass machine as surgeons carefully repaired the defect, working millimeters away from her aortic valve. It was a long, terrifying day — but Gracelynn fought once again.
As if heart surgeries weren’t enough, Gracelynn also lives with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, creating additional challenges with feeding, breathing, and communication. Every bottle, every breath, and every milestone has required extra strength — and extra courage.
Yet through it all, Gracelynn continues to amaze everyone around her. She has endured two open-heart surgeries, countless hospital stays, and ongoing medical challenges — and she meets each day with resilience beyond her age. Her smile, her determination, and her quiet bravery remind everyone who meets her what true strength looks like.
Gracelynn is more than her diagnoses.
She is a fighter.
She is a miracle.
And she is living proof that even the smallest hearts can be incredibly powerful.
The Child We Waited For 10 Years, and the Fear of Losing Her Every Day
“We waited ten years for this child. And now, every single day, we live with the fear that he could be taken from us.”
For ten long years, Misha existed only in hope. His parents learned how to wait in silence. They learned how to smile at baby showers while swallowing their own grief. They learned how to pray without knowing if anyone was listening. Every year that passed without a child carved a deeper ache into their hearts, yet they never stopped believing that one day, somehow, their miracle would come.
When Misha was born, it felt as though the universe had finally answered them. He was perfect. Warm. Real. His mother remembers holding him for the first time, terrified to blink, afraid that if she did, the moment might disappear. His father watched in awe, overwhelmed by the fragile weight of the child they had waited nearly a decade to meet.
Misha learned to laugh. To run. To explore the world with the curiosity only a small child has. Their home filled with toys, bedtime stories, and the kind of ordinary happiness they once believed might never belong to them. They were finally a family.
Then came the fever. At first, it seemed harmless. A child’s illness. Something temporary. But the fever didn’t go away. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. His mother returned to doctors again and again, her instincts screaming that something was wrong.
“It happens,” they said.
“He’ll grow out of it.”
“Just wait.”
But a mother knows when waiting is dangerous. One evening, her husband looked at her and said quietly, “Get an ultrasound. Everything.” That decision changed their lives forever. She still remembers the doctor’s face—the hesitation, the silence, the way his eyes avoided hers. She remembers the screen. The word she never imagined would be spoken about her child. Tumor. Misha sat beside her, smiling, swinging his legs, unaware that his childhood had just been replaced by hospital rooms, needles, and fear. His mother held his hand and felt her world collapse.
What followed was a nightmare no parent is ever prepared for. Chemotherapy stripped his tiny body of strength.
Radiation stole his energy.
Surgeries came one after another.
Anesthesia became routine.
A bone marrow transplant pushed his body to its limits.
There were nights his parents stayed awake, listening to his breathing, terrified it might stop. Days when he was too weak to eat. Moments when hope felt impossibly far away.
And yet, it was Misha—the child—who became their strength. “Mom,” he would whisper, “everything will be fine.” A little boy comforting his parents while fighting for his life. Against all odds, Misha survived. Slowly, painfully, he recovered. He laughed again. He ran again. He dreamed of returning to kindergarten. His parents allowed themselves to believe that the worst was behind them—that their miracle had endured the storm.
For a while, life returned.
Then, quietly, the fear crept back in.
In September, test results began to change. Numbers shifted. Doctors grew cautious. By November, the words they dreaded most were spoken again. The tumor is growing back. Now, his parents watch Misha play, laugh, build towers, and dream—knowing that inside his small body, the disease is hiding once more. Every joyful moment is shadowed by fear. Every smile feels fragile. Doctors have been honest. After two relapses, Misha needs specialized treatment abroad to have a real chance at survival. That chance exists—but it comes at a cost his family cannot carry alone.
The amount required is 1,176,000 rubles. An impossible sum for a family that has already given everything—emotionally, physically, financially—to keep their child alive. They are not asking for comfort. They are not asking for sympathy. They are asking for time. Time for Misha to grow. Time to learn. Time to become the person he dreams of being.
Misha waited ten years to come into this world. He has fought through pain most adults could not endure. He deserves the chance to live. His parents stand once again at the edge of fear—not as fundraisers, but as a mother and father pleading for their child. “Please help us save our son,” they say. “Every donation, every share, every prayer brings us one step closer to keeping him with us.” This is not just a story about illness. It is a story about love that waited ten years to exist. About faith that refuses to break. About a child who deserves a future.
