Life After Congenital Heart Disease Treatment: Lainey’s Story

At 5 months old, Lainey underwent surgery for two congenital heart defects at UVA Health Children’s Heart Center. Congenital heart surgeon James Gangemi, MD, successfully repaired her atrial and ventricular septal defects, two holes in the walls between her heart chambers.

Ashley Havens, Lainey’s mom, contributed a blog post about her experience. We caught up with her to hear how Lainey is doing now.  

Lainey, now 5, has yearly follow-up appointments with a pediatric cardiologist at UVA Pediatric Specialty Care Richmond to make sure she stays healthy. So far, she has, Havens says.

“Our life with Lainey has finally settled into the ‘normal’ range,” she says. “She has no health restrictions or conditions to keep an eye on, and we are very thankful for that.”

These days, Lainey gets to enjoy just being a kid.

“She’s mischievous, but also very tender-hearted, and loves making new friends,” Havens says. “One of her favorite things to do is play with her older brother and sister. She loves swinging, jumping on the trampoline, and playing any type of sports with them.”

Before Lainey’s surgery, “her health was a battle we had to constantly fight,” she says.

“The fear and worry were always there lingering in the backs of our minds and hearts,” Havens says “But, because of her successful surgery at UVA, that state of worry is in the past. There will always be a sliver of fear, the quiet ‘what ifs,’ but they are only whispers now.”