CELEBRATE the Gift of Life Kolt’s Transplant Story

TRANSPLANT NEEDED: HEART

HOME: EDMONTON, AB

Robin and Bryan live with their beautiful family in Edmonton, Alberta. The couple had five children: Kiara, Karissa, Kashton, Kalyssa, and Kylie when Robin found out she was expecting their sixth child. During a routine 12-week ultrasound, Robin had a Nuchal Translucency Screening to measure the thickness of the fluid at the back of the baby’s neck. A couple of days later, Robin’s doctor called her to share the results of her ultrasound. At that moment, Robin had no idea that something so simple could shatter and forever change her family’s life. Their baby was positive and potentially at risk of Trisomy 13, a genetic disorder that fewer than 10% of babies diagnosed with survive. With a potential diagnosis of something so rare, their doctor recommended they did further genetic testing to get a clearer answer. The additional testing came back negative, however their doctor was not convinced on the latest results and felt something wasn’t right.

On Robin’s next ultrasound, it was confirmed that their baby didn’t have the four chambers a normal heart was supposed to have. With no answers, the DuPont family waited to speak to a specialist.

At 20 weeks, a specialist confirmed that their baby had a severe heart defect and was officially diagnosed with Complete Atrioventricular Septal Defect, Coarctation of the aorta, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, and a severe AV valve regurgitation, which ultimately led to them being told their baby would not make it to birth and it was recommended to not continue the pregnancy. This was not an option