Apples

Mara Pearl "Apples"

Pearl is the heart of our family. When she was born, I had no idea what to name her. As soon as she came into this world, the doctors took her away leaving me terrified. When they came back they told me that Mara had a congenital heart defect known as Tetralogy of Fallot. There was a hole in her little heart that had to be repaired as well as a problem with her pulmonary artery which would need a complete bypass.
I named my baby after the blessed Mother (mary is translated as Mara in hebrew) I asked our Lady Mother of Mercy to watch over my daughter.
Six months later my daughter died in my arms. After a "tet" spell her lips turned blue and than a hoary white. I gave her CPR and prayed to our Lord as I was breathing into her nose and mouth. She began to cry out and we rushed her to childrens hospital.
The Doctors would open her heart the next day to repair it.
While I was in the hospital, I saw many other children who needed completly new hearts and I gave thanks to God for his mercy on our baby Pearl. She is doing pretty well these days with a few minor complications overall. Mara Pearl is the happiest person that I have ever met,

Even though she has been through so much,
her spirit is full of grace

and soul is as white as a pearl,

Other children at that hospital need our help. They need love because parents can't go out from their jobs to visit them while they are stuck in their cribs with bars kinda like a cage. The only way some of them will live is if another baby dies and can donate their heart. We will have events to raise money for the research at childrens hospital so that they can improve their knowledge and help children like Mara live normal lives.

I thank my mother in heaven for praying to her son for our pearl and I thank my God for his great mercy to us all.