For the past three months, Avianna has called Totally Kids home. In that time, her parents shared with us not just her journey, but the love story that brought her here.
Some love stories start with fireworks. This one started in college, where two students became sweethearts and, years later, are still finishing each other’s sentences.
She noticed him first. That part, she says, was the sweet one. He was going through a breakup at the time, quiet and a little standoffish, maybe even a little rude, though she understood now it wasn’t him, it was grief. She had her reservations. But something about him made her want to try anyway, so she made the first move.
Even now, when they tell this story together, one begins a sentence before the other excitedly jumps in.
“Wait, wait, you forgot this part.”
“No, you tell it.”
“Oh wait, let me tell this part!”
They gently interrupt, correct each other’s details, and laugh at memories only they fully understand, and somehow, in the middle of finishing each other’s stories, they reveal just how deeply they’ve loved one another all along.
Although filled with love, they faced their first mountain. Her dad.
Her parents were protective of her, understandably so, and he knew that earning their trust would take time. Her father did things the old-fashioned way, and he recalls speaking with her father directly to ask permission to date his daughter. It took consistency and patience, but his blessing was finally received after several months.
“I asked her to be my girlfriend April 19, 2019,” he shares the exact date, smiling proudly, “and the next year we married during the COVID-19 pandemic.” They quietly recalled the intimate ceremony. Another mountain they faced together.
Years later, another dream proved harder to reach. They longed to become parents, but after years of trying, the disappointment became overwhelming.
“I was done,” she recalled softly. “I threw everything away.”
Dad chimes in, “But then…”
“Oh, let me tell this part, I woke him up the next morning shaking him and saying, I am POSITIVE!”
“With COVID?”
They both laughed.
“I kept saying, ‘with a baby!'” she laughed.
To celebrate, they planned a gender reveal surrounded by the people they loved most and shared the name they had carried in their hearts: Avianna Grace, a name they chose because to them, she was exactly that, a miracle from God, wrapped in grace. Their faith would soon carry them even further.
Today, Avianna is only five months old, yet she has already shown a resilience far beyond her size. Born with complex cardiac medical needs, her parents have entered a world of NICU stays, pediatric specialists, heart procedures, therapies, and difficult conversations.
Before Avianna could safely undergo her next heart surgery, she needed to strengthen her feeding skills and continue developing before her body would be ready for another major procedure. That journey brought her to Totally Kids Rehabilitation Hospital during what is called the interstage period, the critical time between surgical procedures when infants continue growing and building strength before the next stage of treatment.
“ For babies who aren’t yet ready to return home, our team provides specialized pediatric nursing, nutritional support, feeding and chin and cheek therapy, rehabilitation services, and family-centered care,” says Averyl Narvasa, Totally Kids’ Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. “Every milestone moves them one step closer to the ultimate goal of going home.”
During her stay, Avianna doubled her weight, growing from just over three kilograms to nearly six, and made such meaningful progress that her anticipated surgical timeline moved from October to August, bringing her family two months closer to the day they had been dreaming about. Her parents praise their therapists for Avianna’s progress.
When asked what he admires most about his wife, he doesn’t hesitate. “Everything, absolutely everything,” he says. “She always puts Avianna first. Watching the way she loves our daughter… I’m proud of her every single day.”
Before he can finish, tears are already welling up.
“There were days that felt really dark,” she admits. “There were moments I didn’t think I could do it.” He looks over at her.
“In every moment of doubt, we carried each other.”
She remembers struggling to breastfeed, determined to provide for her daughter even when it felt impossible. He remembers encouraging her through every setback. Neither speaks about those moments as individual battles. Every challenge became their challenge.
That is what makes their story so remarkable.
Not that life has been easy. Not that every prayer was answered immediately. But that through every setback, every hospital stay, every moment of uncertainty, they never stopped choosing each other.
Soon, after one more surgery, they hope to do something they’ve dreamed about for months.
Go home.
For this family, home is the future they’ve fought for since the day they met, strengthened by faith, sustained by love, and now made complete by one little girl named Avianna Grace, a reminder that sometimes the greatest victories begin with perseverance and the people willing to carry one another through.
A verse the family would like to share:
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13