FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Chelsie and Isaac Morgan always knew they wanted children.
First came their son Landon. Soon after, they found out they were expecting a baby girl, but what started as a normal pregnancy took a turn during a routine anatomy scan.
“At my five-month appointment, they couldn’t find all the areas of her heart,” Chelsie said. “Two weeks later, I went back and they couldn’t find her heartbeat. It took about 20 minutes for them to find it, and they hooked me up to an ultrasound, and they saw holes in her heart.”
Doctors soon determined their daughter would be born with tetralogy of Fallot and a narrowed pulmonary valve, congenital heart defects (CHD) that would require surgery. The couple was told to prepare for the worst as they prayed for the best.
“For me, it was just trusting in the Lord and trusting in my faith,” Isaac said. “Trusting everything’s going to be OK.”
On March 17, 2016, Chelsie gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Isabella.
“The NICU and cardiologists were there with us. They had a team ready to take her to another hospital with children’s pediatrics if needed,” Chelsie said.
Isabella was stable. After four days in the NICU, she went home.
“I was just afraid of her future,” Chelsie said. “Would she struggle? Would she not be able to be active? Would she struggle in school?”
At four months old, Isabella returned to the hospital for a 6-hour surgery.
“The worst part of it … was right before surgery because she had no idea what was going on, and she was just a happy little thing,” Chelsie said. “And then right after surgery, going in and seeing her on all those monitors was just terrifying.”
Today, Isabella is 9 years old and thriving. Between dance, cheerleading and school, nothing holds her back. And with another surgery on the horizon, the family celebrates every day just how far their girl has come and gives thanks for all she has yet to accomplish.
“One fear that I have is that she’s ashamed of her scar. I pray that she’s never ashamed of it,” Chelsie said. “It’s part of her story.”
“I suspect her future is going to be bright,” Isaac said. “There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be.”
The couple hopes sharing Isabella’s story will provide hope for other families with “heart babies” like Isabella.
“After I found out her diagnosis, I found a lot of comfort hearing other people’s stories and other kids that have lived through it,” Chelsie said. “If I can do that for somebody, I want to.”
On Friday, Isabella was honored at the American Heart Association’s 2025 Triad Heart Ball and fundraiser in Greensboro.
She’ll have her next and final surgery in another five years or so.
