KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Schendel family is celebrating their first Valentine’s Day at home as a family of three with everyone decked out in pink and red outfits.
The holiday never carried much weight for Kate and Ryan Schendel until February 2024.
Just 20 weeks into Kate's pregnancy, the couple learned their baby, Noah, had hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
The diagnosis came with a specialized care team and the knowledge their son would have multiple heart surgeries after his birth.
“It wasn’t really a month last year we wanted to celebrate,” Kate said. “We were in that grieving process having just found out.”
Noah was born in June and had his first surgery four days later.
During Noah’s second surgery a few months later, Kate and Ryan stayed in the Ronald McDonald House inside Children’s Mercy Hospital.
Noah’s second surgery came with a complication. He was quickly taken into the operating room for a third surgery to remove a blood clot.
During his recovery, Noah’s parents were just steps away.
“Just being able to get up at two in the morning and go over and check on him made us feel more at ease knowing that he’s okay,” Ryan said. “We had a few scares. We didn’t know if he was going to make it. He turned a color a human being should never turn, which terrified us beyond anything we could have ever imagined.”
Noah fought through his surgeries and is at home with positive notes from the doctor.
“He’s doing so well," Kate said. "He’s here with us. We get to love him every day. We get to be his parents. And I just love how amazing he is. It’s unbelievable.”
The Schendels are looking forward to many years of Valentine’s Day celebrations.
“It’s a celebration this year," Kate said. "We get to love on him. We were texting each other yesterday how excited we were to do nothing tonight. Just order pizza and snuggle our little man because we can, because he’s here, and he’s great and he’s so full of love and we have a lot of love to give.”
Noah’s next surgery is a few years down the line, but he will see doctors at Children's Mercy Hospital every few months.
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