A newborn baby’s life should be simple, full of love and warmth. A time of joy. But for one family, their child’s beginning came with worry, anxiety, tears, and emergency surgery. But thanks to science and the selflessness of another family, their daughter’s future suddenly looks brighter.

Andre and Sam Civil can hardly believe they are celebrating their daughter’s first birthday. Nine months ago, Brooklyn Civil was a recipient of a revolutionary partial heart transplant that saved her life, along with another baby.

On Feb. 18, Brooklyn’s family and friends helped mark the milestone with a bumblebee-themed bash, complete with a beehive-shaped smash cake, to celebrate the little girl who helped make medical history.

It felt incredible to be able to celebrate her with all of our family and friends,” Sam said.

During Sam’s 20-week ultrasound they were told that Brooklyn had a heart condition known as truncus arteriosus. According to NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, her heart was missing a pulmonary valve and aortic valve, which pump blood out of the heart. Brooklyn was rushed into surgery at just four days old, Sam said, and doctors fixed a few of the issues with her heart that they could.

The Civil family with baby Brooklyn. Photo courtesy of the Civil family

“But we knew she was going to need more surgeries, and we knew that another surgery was kind of imminent,” she said. “We didn’t know exactly when, but we were thinking probably about in a month or two.”

Then, when Brooklyn was three, the couple were told that Brooklyn was a candidate for a domino transplant. They were told that Brooklyn would receive healthy valves from another baby, 8-month-olld Mia Skaats, who was undergoing a full heart transplant.

“It all kind of came to fruition and we found out it was all within a couple hours that the idea happened, and they discussed it, and then they called us and then it happened,” Sam says.

“To me, the biggest part of this is that we went from helping one baby to two,” Dr. Marc Richmond, the pediatric cardiologist who led the girls’ medical care teams, said in a hospital news release.

From left, the Skaats family and the Civil family hold their babies. Photo courtesy of New York-Presbyterian

He added, “The No. 1 reason babies die while on a transplant list is because they don’t match with a donor fast enough. So the ability to help more than one child — that’s the holy grail for us.”

There were dozens of people in the hospital caring directly for both children. It was a whole team effort.”

The two families are forever bonded, they said. “As Brooklyn and Mia get older and their immune systems are kind of a little bit more sturdy, we definitely plan on getting them together and we want them to be part of each other’s lives for sure,” Sam said. Until then, the Civils say they are soaking up every minute with Brooklyn, who happens to be “the sweetest baby in the world,” her beaming dad said.

“Celebrating Brooklyn’s first birthday knowing she has a healthy, normally functioning heart means the world to us,” Sam adds. “We were so unsure what her first year would look like, but thanks to the beautiful gift given to us by Mia and her family and the doctors, we were able to enjoy her birthday and celebrate her strength and resilience without worry or fear of what her future holds.” Watch below and learn more about this complex surgery and these brave little girls.

Source: People