A story of courage, love, and hope

On December 17, 2024 our beautiful twins Ryan Lin and Rowan Jo were born. Our brave Rowan was born with a heart disease that unfortunately could not be fixed. After fighting so hard, sweet Rowan became our angel on January 25, 2025.

Prior to birth, Rowan was diagnosed with a form of congenital heart disease called tricuspid atresia.  This meant she would require a series of three heart surgeries before the age of three, but she would live a semi-normal life.  Following her birth, the first surgery was performed.  During the procedure, the doctors found Rowan had another heart defect called a coronary fistula.  This became a problem because the second and third surgeries were no longer an option.  Every medical professional, at one of the leading heart clinics in the world, stated they had never seen this combination of defects; it was considered a coronary anomaly.  Nevertheless, they continued to care for her while we identified a clinic in the United States that could perform a heart transplant.  Dell Children's Hospital, located in Austin, Texas had accepted Rowan as a patient.  Unfortunately, it was too late because her body was shutting down and her heart was unable to circulate blood properly throughout her body.

At this point, the only option we had was to elect for palliative care. The doctors did not think Rowan would make it through the weekend, but she fought so hard she made it another eight days.  Being the strongest girl in the world, she fought while she was surrounded by her mom, dad, sister, family, and friends. During her short life, she impacted the lives of hundreds across the globe.  There is nothing Rowan enjoyed more than being held by her mommy and daddy while watching Disney movies with her sister, or being told stories about the lives of her mommy, daddy, and their friends and family.  Rowan Jo was the strongest and most beautiful baby girl in the whole entire world.

Love,

Taylor and Justin Salvione