Little Lucy's parents, Brad and Dana Dean, first came to our House in September 2009 when Lucy was only one week old.  Their precious child was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which is a rare congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped.

Lucy had the first of three surgeries that she will ultimately need to repair her heart on September 17, 2009.  The Deans moved into the Nashville Ronald McDonld House on September 21 following her surgery.  In November of the same year, Lucy moved in and called the House her "home away from home," too.  There were some very scary moments for the Dean family during Lucy's recovery.  Just one of those moments occurred when, after a routine heart catheter procedure, she coded in Dana's arms.

Because the Dean family lived so far away in Dothan, Alabama, they continued calling the Ronald McDonald House home while Lucy recovered.  She had her second open heart surgery on December 14, 2009 at just three months old.  At such a tender young age, she had already survived two major surgeries on her tiny heart.

Brad and Dana took Lucy home on December 23, 2009 after more than 90 days at the Nashville Ronald McDonald House.  What a wonderful gift to be at home with Lucy's older brother, Hughes, and the rest of their family for her first Christmas!

Lucy was back in Nashville this week for a checkup and she has a fiery personality to match her red curls.  You can tell she is a fighter when you meet her!