The lovely Danielle Gray with her daughter Chloe (5) and son Russell (10 months). Danielle learned that she had a heart condition in college but it was left mostly untreated until she was pregnant with Chloe. She had to see a cardiologist throughout her pregnancy and though pregnancy greatly aggravated her symptoms, she was able to carry Chloe to term. She had fainting spells and had to pay very close attention to her limits as she was much more tired than usual. Pain is a trigger for her heart to get out of rhythm or speed up so she knew going into labor that she would need an epidural. She had a very short labor, only 4 hours from start to finish, and thanks to her pain management she was able to deliver vaginally without issue. She tried for quite some time to get pregnant again and was nervous as to how her body would react a second time. While she felt less sick with Russell's pregnancy, her heart symptoms were heightened. She again carried to term by managing her day to day carefully but had a heart attack during his delivery. Thankfully she was able to push him out quickly and he was born healthy but taken to NICU so that her team of doctors could focus on her. Danielle had said goodbye to her daughter while in labor not knowing if she would make it and is so grateful for everyday. She hopes to soon undergo a needed heart surgery that will allow her to take the medicine needed to better manage her symptoms.
