Alys was a surprise baby and a blessing from the beginning! We didn’t know before she was born that she would have Down syndrome and a heart defect. We were embraced by the DS community immediately and that helped us navigate the sometimes scary world of CHD. Her first surgery at 3 months old did not go as planned and she spent two weeks on ECMO. Once we got her home and healed we had one or two good years before she started to show signs of heart failure again. Onto the Berlin she went. When the transplant didn’t come, we look back on her life and remember good things. Dancing to abba, laughing, bubbles, snuggles for her big brother. Her love of Moana and music. And her mantra “I am strong, I am smart, I am beautiful.”