Parent blog: Miranda Goodpaster and Bret Hilpipre

In their own words

We first became involved with University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital in February of 2019 after learning that our unborn son had diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. After learning that our unborn child would need to undergo three open-heart surgeries, we were devastated. We made our first trip to Iowa City in February to come up with a game plan for after Holden made his arrival. From the moment we arrived, we knew our son would be in the best hands possible. 

Holden was born on May 7 and had his first open-heart surgery on May 10, when he was just 3 days old. We have made many trips since coming home.

We stayed in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with our son for 69 days and every caregiver that walked into that room showed us so much compassion. We were able to breathe a little easier knowing that Holden was receiving the best care with each nurse, doctor, physical therapist, etc., who came to provide care. We loved being able to be a part of the department rounding. It was a nice way to interact with everyone involved in his care and they always made sure to include us and answer any questions we had.

Holden was scheduled to have his second open-heart surgery in October 2019, but it was determined that his heart function was too poor for the surgery. He has since been added to the heart transplant list and was readmitted to UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital in November 2019.

UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital is an amazing facility. Each person involved with our son's care was so dedicated to taking great care of him and making sure that we were taken care of, as well. We are forever grateful for the kindness and compassion we received.