Photo:Courtesy of The Civil Family
Courtesy of The Civil Family
On Feb. 18, Brooklyn Civil’s loved ones marked the milestone with a bumblebee-themed bash, complete with a beehive-shaped smash cake, to celebrate the little girl who helped make medical history.
“It felt incredible to be able to celebrate her with all of our family and friends,” Sam Civil, Brooklyn’s mother, exclusively tells PEOPLE.
Making the event even more special? Knowing just how far Brooklyn has come.
Instead, Brooklyn was born with a “single outflow valve, known as a truncal valve, and a hole between the two pumping chambers of her heart.”
“It was scary,” Sam tells PEOPLE. “But everybody was very positive and optimistic that even though she would have to have surgeries, she would also be able to lead a fairly normal life.”
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At just 4 days old, Brooklyn underwent her first surgery, where doctors were able to fix some of the issues with her heart, Sam says.
“But we knew she was going to need more surgeries, and we knew that another surgery was kind of imminent,” she tells PEOPLE. “We didn’t know exactly when, but we were thinking probably about in a month or two.”
“It all kind of came to fruition and we found out it was all within a couple hours that the idea happened, and they discussed it, and then they called us and then it happened,” Sam says.
Richmond added, “The No. 1 reason babies die while on a transplant list is because they don’t match with a donor fast enough. So the ability to help more than one child — that’s the holy grail for us. There were dozens of people in the hospital caring directly for both children. It was a whole team effort.”
Several months later, the babies were thriving.In an appearance on theTodayshowlast August, Mia cooed and wriggled in her mother Nicole’s arms, while Brooklyn sat content on Sam’s lap.
The two babies have met up a couple of times since the surgery, along with their thankful parents, of course — and the Civils say the bond between themselves and the Skaats is one that will never be broken.
“As Brooklyn and Mia get older and their immune systems are kind of a little bit more sturdy, we definitely plan on getting them together and we want them to be part of each other’s lives for sure,” Sam tells PEOPLE.
“She really is so sweet,” Andre gushes. “She’s holding onto furniture or our fingers and cruising around. She’s a nervous Nelly though. Every time we try to let go of her, she is able to stand. But as soon as she realizes she’s on her own, she’s like, ‘Oh, no.’ But she’s smiling. She loves to blow kisses, she loves to wave. She waves at everyone and everything.”
source: people.com
