Kid Captain: Galilea Gonzalez

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Galilea Gonzalez was born with transposition of the great arteries, a rare condition in which the two main arteries leaving the heart were reversed. The condition was discovered during a prenatal ultrasound, and her parents were able to work with doctors at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital to develop a plan for surgery shortly after she was born.

Galilea’s heart rate began to drop during a prenatal visit at her hometown hospital and she had to be born two weeks early in an emergency cesarean section. She was then flown by helicopter to Iowa City and admitted into the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Eight days later she underwent surgery to repair her heart.

Read Galilea’s story here.