Judah’s Story

Judah was diagnosed prenatally with complex congenital heart defects, a condition that would define the course of his entire life if he were lucky enough to live it. Thus began a journey that no mother would wish for their child, an infancy ruled by cold hospital policy, open heart surgeries and pain.

Judah required four open-heart surgeries. While decades ago, babies born like Judah would not have survived to see their first birthday, research and scientific advances have given him a chance to reach adulthood.

Through her journal writings Judah’s mom, Heather, reveals the inner working of a mother’s heart as she lives out a parent’s worst nightmare, what it means to struggle, to fear and to love when every day with your child is not guaranteed.

As we watch an everyday woman reach into the depths of her being to meet the challenges of love and loss, we learn that we are all capable of loving more boldly than we thought.

Heather is a humanist and works as a Labor & Delivery nurse at Sutter Davis Birthing center, a hospital recognized nationally for its progressive stance on following evidence-based care, supporting natural childbirth and for having a low rate of C-sections. After years of dedicating her life to the service of women and babies, Heather now finds herself fighting to nurture a strong sense of connectedness with her own child within a hospital environment.