When Lauren was born at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies, there was no indication that she was anything but a completely healthy baby. The next day, she was taken to complete standard newborn testing in order to prepare their family to go home. Testing took longer than expected and Lauren’s parents, Melanie and Patrick, were informed that she had not passed her Pulse oximetry screening, a test that measures the level of oxygen in the blood. Following two echocardiograms, the images were clear – they showed that Lauren had a congenital heart defect which required open-heart surgery immediately. Like zombies, they walked across the bridge connecting Orlando Health Winnie Palmer to the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children where Lauren was prepared for surgery. Amazingly, 11 days after her surgery, Lauren was discharged and her family was finally able to go home. Lauren’s parents, Melanie and Patrick, are forever grateful for the high level of care that their daughter received, as well as the state of the art equipment that is used at The Heart Center at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer where she will continue her follow up care into adulthood.She loves karate and is now a happy and active 11 year old girl! < Back