Over the past 6 years, she has survived 13 surgeries (3 open heart), many complications as a result of her CHD, and 22 months of inpatient treatment in the hospital. But that hasn’t stopped Zoey! After lots of treatment and a high-risk surgery (that was successful!), Zoey’s life took a turn for the better. She’s got stronger. She learned to walk. She went to Kindergarten at her local public school. She’s got to learn what it looks like to have some “normal” childhood adventures.

Through all the ups and downs of her first 6 years, Zoey learned that she loves to read/be read to. Reading was something that provided her with a distraction through treatments and hospital stays and something she still wants to do whenever she gets the chance today. Her mom, Tori, said, “Anyone who really knows Zoey, knows how much she LOVES to read.” So, she wished to have a children’s book written about her and her journey with her heart condition, CHD. Thanks to a partnership with A Novel Idea, one of their writers Wendy Martin, and some volunteer artists from Pixar Animation Studios, Zoey’s wish came to life! And her book, Zoey’s Heart, turned out to be amazing and beautiful!! 

When the book was finished, we had a book reveal party at Parnassus Books. Everyone involved in the wish got to share how this book came together, Zoey’s mom shared a little bit about their story and why Zoey picked this wish, and we revealed the book to Zoey and her family for the first time. When Zoey saw the book for the first time, she smiled so big! She was so excited! Zoey’s mom said, “We are so excited to have something tangible that Zoey can carry with her for the rest of her live and say, ‘This is something I did!’” Zoey was so proud of her book that she held a book signing afterwards so everyone could get an autographed copy of her beautiful, new book. 

If you’re interested in buying Zoey’s book, which will donate to Make-A-Wish Middle Tennessee and the Pediatric Congenital Heart Association, you can do so here.