Life is Precious and Not Always Easy

Kelsey Corltio was diagnosed with an atrial septal defect at birth, a condition that is usually mended by one "simple and easy" procedure, a "3-4 day hospital stay." There has been nothing simple and easy about Kelsey's condition, Kelsey has undergone a series of corrective surgeries, including two mitral valve replacements, multiple cardiac catheter's, internal bleeding, pulmonary edema and countless hours of fighting for her life. Kelsey has been on an external pacing device, a ventilator for days at a time after each procedure, multiple paralytic drugs and at her worst, hooked up to a heart/lung machine that kept her alive for four days after her 4th surgery when her little heart was too just too tired to start again. Her tiny little incision has been opened and reopened, again and again. She now has a tissue valve and permanent pacemaker, both will need to be replaced at some point down the road. Kelsey has battled more than what anyone should have to endure in the course of a lifetime. And Kelsey is not even 2 years old yet.