{"id":5551,"date":"2010-01-02T08:00:11","date_gmt":"2010-01-02T13:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pg6.a60.myftpupload.com\/?p=5455"},"modified":"2021-03-13T21:46:42","modified_gmt":"2021-03-14T03:46:42","slug":"giulias-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chdcoalition.org\/giulias-story","title":{"rendered":"Giulia"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”padding-2-percent” column_padding_position=”left-right” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”2\/3″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]Giulia was born with and ASD (atrial septal defect) but it was never detected. \u00a0She led a perfectly normal childhood as a beautiful, smart, chubby baby. \u00a0She excelled at every milestone. There was no failure to thrive or a symptom of any kind.<\/p>\n

At the age of 12, Giulia started complaining of chest pains. She visited the doctor several times but each time was told there was nothing wrong. We were told it was anxiety and that something else must have been wrong. Twice we visited the ER after late night panic attacks. \u00a0Chest X-rays and Ekg\u2019s both came back normal.\u00a0 At yet another trip to the local urgent care, the doctor there heard a murmur.\u00a0 We followed up with the pediatrician again<\/em> and he finally suggested we go for an echocardiogram. \u00a0We made an appointment with a cardiologist and when they came in with the news we were in a complete state of shock. \u00a0She had an ASD that would require surgery. \u00a0We were told for so long that nothing was wrong and now we were facing open heart surgery.<\/p>\n

We met a family at the cardiologist\u2019s office with a daughter that had a similar story. \u00a0We couldn\u2019t believe there was another teenager going through the same thing. \u00a0She was one week post-op when we met her and she looked great. \u00a0It gave us a lot of confidence and comfort hearing their story and what they had gone through. \u00a0I considered that family a Godsend because they were in our path when we needed someone to hold us up.<\/p>\n

We decided to have the surgery done right away.\u00a0 We met with the surgeon and felt confident that all would go well.\u00a0 Giulia also was able to meet her surgeon and talk to him in his office. The morning of the surgery was very scary. \u00a0Since Giulia wasn\u2019t a baby, she was scared and we did our best to comfort her.\u00a0 It was hard to see her go into the OR; the nurses were great and comforted us too.\u00a0 We waited in the waiting room for several hours. \u00a0The nurse came out several times to update us. \u00a0The power of prayer from family and friends surrounded us and gave us peace. The surgery to repair the hole was a success, and Giulia did very well recovering. \u00a0It\u2019s been over two years and her annual cardiologist appointments have all been great.<\/p>\n

After the experience that changed her life, Giulia wanted to do something to pay forward the kindness that was shown to her. \u00a0From the staff at the cardiologist\u2019s office to the staff at the PICU in the hospital to the wonderful, amazing angels at the CHD Coalition, Giulia never experienced a bad moment. \u00a0She decided to run a journal drive to collect journals to add to the heart bags. \u00a0She so enjoyed her own bag and uses it to this day. \u00a0She has hosted five drives so far and plans to keep doing it each year during February – Heart Month. \u00a0Doing something like this helps her remember her experience in a positive way. \u00a0Other events like the CHD Charity Walk and family events are opportunities to come together with your own family as well as your CHD families. To learn other people\u2019s stories and journeys is amazing and very helpful. Giulia also enjoys knowing all about the heart in health class!<\/p>\n

Instead of putting a bad experience behind her, Giulia looks forward to many years of helping her cause and sending heartfelt prayers to all the families on this path. God Bless![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/3″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”5573″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][image_with_animation image_url=”5574″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][image_with_animation image_url=”5576″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”padding-2-percent” column_padding_position=”left-right” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”2\/3″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]Giulia was born with and ASD (atrial septal…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5573,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,35],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5551","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atrial-septal-defect","8":"category-stories"},"yoast_head":"\nGiulia | Congenital Heart Defect Coalition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chdcoalition.org\/giulias-story\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Giulia | Congenital Heart Defect Coalition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”padding-2-percent” column_padding_position=”left-right” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”2\/3″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]Giulia was born with and ASD (atrial septal...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/chdcoalition.org\/giulias-story\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Congenital Heart Defect Coalition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CHDCoalition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-01-02T13:00:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" 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