Nov 19, 2008 10:08 pm US/Eastern
Ruby's Heart Has Come A Long Way
Neighbors 4 Neighbors -(305) 597-4404
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Ruby has come a long way since suffering two heart attacks, but now her parents need help with their medical bills.
CBS
After living throught a nightmare that almost cost them a life, a family in South Miami Dade has finally received the dream they've been waiting for.
After already having two boys, Joel and Marion Cardonne had a baby girl, Ruby. However, things soon took a tragic turn. Two weeks after the girl's birth, she had two heart attacks, flat lined and was put on a heart transplant list; she was only given a 30 percent chance of survival.
CBS4 was in touch with the family when Ruby's condition suddenly changed. The Cardonnes couldn't believe what was happening.
"Her life was flashing before our eyes and we were praying for a miracle," Ruby's mom told
CBS4's Cynthia Demos. Two weeks after she was born Ruby would grunt, get cold sweats, and breathe funny. She would cry a lot, and her parents thought she was colic, but it was so much worse.
"As soon as we got to Jackson Hospital the baby flat-lines and Dr. Harmon had to resuscitate her and stabilize her," said Joel Cardonne.
"We had to shock her heart a few times to get it going," said Dr. Harmon.
Joel said they were told to get a heart "another baby would have to pass." That made the Cardonnes feel horrible, there was no winning.
Over the next three months Ruby was transferred from Jackson Memorial Hospital to Miami Children's Hospital to Baptist Hospital multiple times. The worst part, according to the Cardonnes, was hearing other parents on the same hospital floor scream when their baby didn't make it.
"A lot of tears, it was like a nightmare," said Joel.
But then it felt like they woke up from that horrific dream. Ruby had a sudden unexplained recovery, and the Cardonnes were able to bring their little miracle home. Ruby's dad said his one thought was that "God is good, and that our baby is a miracle." Marion said, "The exact word is blessed"
"I think it would be fine to think of Ruby as a miracle, she certainly is," said Harmon.
Rudy's doctors said in her first three months of life she proved she was a fighter and a survivor. For her parents, after three months, Ruby gave them what they had been praying and waiting for, a healthy child who was able to go home.
"Thanks to the prayer and God and the angels, our baby's a little miracle," said Joel.
The medical expenses for the Cardonne family have been extraordinary.
CBS4's Neighbors 4 Neighbors is asking for donations to help the family defray some of these medical costs. If you would like to help, contact Neighbors 4 Neighbors at
(305) 597-4404.
Click Here to make an online donation.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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