Isla Galliart

Isla Galliart, of La Grange, IL, is a playful, 11-month-old girl, who on an typical day, can be found happily standing or crawling around her home while playing with toys or listening to stories.

 At first glance, the presence of her nasogastric tube may be the only indicator that Isla’s life has been more complicated than that of most other babies.

As a newborn, Isla was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a condition in which the heart has an extra electrical pathway, causing heart rate to periodically and substantially increase (Mayo, 2011).

Additionally, Isla was born with a rare cardiomyopathy, which caused her to go into cardiac arrest at 3 months of age.

When she was 3 months old, Isla underwent ablation, a procedure to correct heart rhythm problems. Isla also had open heart surgery for defibrillator placement, and cardiac sympathectomy, a procedure to control heart rhythm.

At 7 months of age, Isla was hospitalized at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL where she underwent heart transplantation.

For Isla’s parents, Kayleigh Zurcher and fiancé Josh Galliart, the past year has presented many opportunities to rely on others for emotional and financial support.

This family has been supported throughout their journey by family members, friends, a host of cardiologists, nurses, social workers and the Erika Kate Foundation, which has been able to assist the family with home finances as Isla’s condition and subsequent hospitalizations have required Kayleigh and Josh to miss prolonged periods of work, and necessitated relocating from their hometown of Orion, Illinois, to be near Isla’s treatment facilities in Chicago, Illinois.

Kayleigh and Josh have also spent the past year relying on God.  According to Kayleigh “Every single doctor we've worked with is amazed by Isla and reinforces to us that it is a miracle she is still here with us. Her condition was the most severe they've seen in her type of cardiomyopathy but she is here and she is thriving. When our world felt like it was crashing down and we felt so helpless, we kept our faith strong and knew that she was in God's hands.” 

As Isla’s first birthday approaches, the family is adjusting to their new home in La Grange, Illinois.  Kayleigh has stopped working as an occupational therapist, and spends her days at home with Isla, administering nasogastric  feedings and medications, while working on feeding Isla by mouth. They attend doctor appointments and feeding therapy once every two weeks and enjoy going for walks in their new town. Kayleigh describes Isla as a happy, social baby who babbles a lot.

While Kayleigh and Josh reflect on the past year and the people that have helped them along the way, Isla, too knows the names of two of the most important people in her life, and refers to them as “mama” and “dada.”

 

Mayo Clinic. (2011). Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome. Retrieved from

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/wolff-parkinson-white-syndrome/DS00923.