Four-month-old Emma Shurko has already endured more pain, more surgeries, and more hospital days than most of us will face in a lifetime. Born with one of the most complex heart defects imaginable, she has spent every day of her short life fighting to stay alive — and every night, her parents have prayed that her little heart will keep beating until morning.

“She’s so tiny,” her mother says softly, “and yet she’s already survived more than most adults ever will.”

A Fragile Beginning

Emma’s story began before she even took her first breath. During pregnancy, doctors noticed irregularities in her heart, but nothing could have prepared her family for what they would face after her birth.

The diagnosis was overwhelming — a string of frightening medical terms: dextrocardia, transverse ventricular tachycardia, VSD, aortic arch hypoplasia, and juxtaposition of the atrial appendages. In simpler terms, Emma’s heart was not only malformed — it was alsolocated on the right side of her chest, with the major blood vessels reversed.

“It felt like the world collapsed around us,” her mother recalls. “We didn’t even have time to hold her before doctors took her away for emergency treatment.”

A Heart Under Siege

When Emma was just 12 days old, she underwent her first major operation — an aortic angioplasty to widen her narrowed aorta, along with restructuring the main vesselsand banding her pulmonary artery to stabilize blood flow.

The surgery was long and terrifying. Her parents waited outside the operating room, clinging to hope. When the doors finally opened, the news was bittersweet — the surgery had been successful, but Emma couldn’t breathe on her own. She was placed on a ventilator, a tangle of tubes and machines keeping her alive.

“Seeing her like that… so small, so still,” her mother says through tears, “it broke me. All I could do was sit by her bed and pray.”

Complications and Courage

The days that followed were a blur of fear and exhaustion. When doctors attempted a second intervention to tighten the pulmonary artery band and remove a surgical needle left in the mediastinum, Emma’s condition did not improve. Her oxygen levels remained dangerously low, and she still couldn’t breathe without support.

Then came another crushing blow: paralysis of one vocal cord and part of her diaphragm.

Emma’s medical team didn’t give up. At just two months old, she underwent diaphragm surgery— a risky but necessary procedure to restore her ability to breathe independently.

This time, it worked. For the first time since her birth, Emma took a breath on her own.

“It was the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard,” her mother smiles faintly. “Her first real breath — her first step toward life.”

The Road to Recovery

After nearly three months in the hospital, Emma was finally strong enough to go home. But the fight is far from over.

She takes multiple medications every day and continues to be fed through a tube, as her tiny body hasn’t yet learned to coordinate swallowing. She now needs intensive rehabilitationto learn how to feed from a bottle — a simple act most babies master naturally, but one that could take Emma months to achieve.

Her vocal cord paralysis still causes breathing and feeding difficulties, and anotherheart surgery lies ahead. Her parents live in constant fear, knowing that every cough, every faint cry could be a sign of another setback.

“We try to be strong for her,” her mother says, “but some nights, I just hold her and cry. She’s been through so much.”

A Plea From the Heart

The family’s savings have been drained by hospital stays, medications, travel, and specialized therapies. Yet they know that rehabilitation and continued cardiac care are the only path forwardfor their daughter.

They’re now reaching out — humbly, desperately — for help.

“We’ve seen miracles happen through the kindness of strangers,” her father says. “We’re asking for another one — for Emma.”

Every donation, every act of support, brings Emma one step closer to the life she deserves — one with laughter, play, and peace instead of hospital walls and monitors.

Hope Lives in Her Little Heart

Despite everything, Emma is a fighter. Her eyes are bright, her grip strong, and her spirit unbreakable. She smiles when her parents sing to her, unaware of the battles raging inside her tiny body.

“We believe things will get better,” her mother says. “She’s already proven she’s stronger than anyone imagined.”

Now, it’s time to give her a chance to keep proving it.

💖 Please, help us fight for Emma — our little girl with the brave heart.
Every contribution is a heartbeat of hope, keeping her tiny miracle alive.