Victoria was born in Venezuela and lived her life like any normal kid, up until the age of 10. That’s when she started to feel an overwhelming pain in her chest. Her parents took her to see a cardiologist and were told she needed heart surgery. But as surgeons attempted to repair Victoria’s aortic valve, they actually made her condition worse. Her mother took her to see a prominent cardiologist in Caracas and he told her that Victoria was dying and urged her to seek care outside of Venezuela. Those words brought them to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami and pediatric cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Robert Hannan.
Days after her arrival in Miami, Victoria underwent life-saving open-heart surgery at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital with Dr. Hannan, but that was only the beginning of a remarkable journey that not only affected Victoria’s life, but Dr. Hannan’s as well.
Here’s the latest in a continuing series of videos that I’ve been producing for Nicklaus Children’s Health Foundation, who help raise funds and awareness for Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami – this is Victoria’s remarkable story…
