Bringing Baby Mariana Home

My little sister was born when I was 8 years old. My mom called while she and the baby were still in the hospital. She said Mariana had turned blue. She wasn’t breathing on her own. Children’s National Hospital came to get her in a helicopter.

My grandma and I were scared for my baby sister.

A few days later, we drove from Virginia to Washington, D.C., to visit her in the hospital. A doctor said something had gone wrong with the connection between her heart and her lungs. She wasn’t blue any more. She was hooked up to a machine with tubes to help her breathe. It shook and made a lot of noise. It scared me. I didn’t think she was going to make it.

The next time we visited, I was so glad to see Mariana in a crib without the breathing machine. I felt hopeful. My dad says Children’s National had all the right equipment to save Mariana. He also says the equipment is useless without the people. He calls them a “symphony of perfection.” She came home after about a month.