Yulianna Cleto and her husband Michael Flores count their blessings whenever they hold their newborn baby, Ramona.
“I really do sit here every day and thank God that she’s here because I prayed for her," Cleto said.
Flores calls her their miracle.
"It’s hard not to cry when I think about it," he says with tears in his eyes.
For Flores and Cleto, Ramona has defied the odds, thanks to the folks at Banner's Fetal Care Center at the Diamond Children's Medical Center.
Pediatric and fetal surgeon, Dr. Kenneth Liechty performed surgery on Ramona while she was still in her mother’s womb.
“The majority of the kids that we’re operating on are babies that if we didn’t intervene would die,” Dr. Liechty explained.
That was the case for Ramona.
Everything was picture-perfect for Yulianna and Michael.
The couple was in baby bliss, expecting their first child. Everything seemed on the up and up; that is until they went in for Cleto's 21-week checkup.
Their 3D sonogram photos revealed something very wrong.
Their baby had a large mass growing on her chest.
"That chest mass was compressing the heart and resulting in heart failure for the baby," Dr. Liechty said.
The news was jarring for Cleto and Flores.
"You meet this guy for the first time and he's saying all of these big words that you don't quite understand, but you just know it's scary," Flores said.
Up until three years ago, when Dr. Liechty came to Tucson, such a diagnosis in the area was dire. Life-saving fetal surgeries were not available in Arizona.
“We have the only fetal care center in the state that does the full range of fetal interventions," Dr. Liechty said. "Normally, these patients would have to relocate to a Fetal Center; the closest being Denver or Los Angeles."
At one month old, Ramona has already had a second surgery and will soon have a third. To her family, she is a fighter, named for her nana whose rosary is placed close by her in her crib.
Cleto thinks the world of Dr. Liechty.
“He’s a miracle worker," she said. "He’s blessed by God.”
Dr. Liechty has high hopes for his little patient and will continue to see Ramona over the next year to make sure she is meeting her milestones.
“We’re not just doing something later in life that prolongs life a little bit," he said. "We’re saving actually a whole lifetime by doing this early on."
