Matt Willingham 
Did you know that you once had a hole in your heart?
It’s true. You had the same hole that Zahraa has, actually. You were both born with something called a ductus arteriosus, which is basically an opening between the pulmonary artery and the descending aorta.
But your hole closed, and hers didn’t.
At birth, you took that first gasp of air and—at that instant—this hole in your heart began closing. It wasn’t long before your hole was gone, and your blood flow was perfectly normal. You were fed, you kept your parents up for crazy amounts of time, and you did what babies do—your parents probably didn’t even know the hole was there.
Zahraa’s parents knew early on that something wasn’t right; they learned early on that their child’s hole hadn’t closed and that she would need surgery.
It’s difficult to know why your hole closed and Zahraa’s didn’t. Some research suggests that it’s a hormonal issue, but it’s hard to tell (and honestly way over my head).
Regardless, Zahraa is about to join you and the rest of us by having her PDA closed, and you made that possible!
They’re putting her under and operating on her right now, so come back in a few hours for an update. More to come…
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