Eliza Kovarik
Eliza was born at Brigham and women’s Hospital in Boston, MA on January 1, 2026. Shortly after she was born, she was transferred over to Boston Children’s Hospital due to a congenital heart defect that was found during the pregnancy. She was diagnosed with Truncus Arteriosus in the womb, and needed to have surgery within the first week of life.
On January 6 at just five days old, she underwent open heart surgery to add in her missing pulmonary artery, and to repair a ventricle septal defect. After eight long hours, she made it through surgery with no problems.
Eliza recovered at a very quick pace, she fought to be here. She made it through all of her tests and scans, and passed all of them with flying colors. She was named the most alert baby on the floor. After three weeks in the hospital recovering, Eliza finally got to go home. Eliza’s parents and her big brother were very happy to finally have her home.
At home, Eliza thrived. She began to gain weight, grow, laugh, and roll over. She began to play with some of her little toys. She was such a happy baby despite everything she had just gone through. She was so full of love and laughter. She brought joy and could put smiles on people’s faces with no effort at all.
On April 13th, at a regular cardiology visit we found out that her pulmonary artery had mild to moderate leakage and that she also had a very large aneurysm at the base of the artery. We were warned that she will need surgery again, however, she never got that chance to have it. Just 10 days after finding out about the aneurysm, she passed away at home surrounded by her loving family. It was very unexpected, and it’s the hardest thing her family has ever had to go through.
Eliza was pure joy, she was such an active baby who loved to move around, she was a little wiggle worm. She consistently defied the odds and hit her milestones faster than ever expected. She was just an incredible baby overall, and we miss her so much. She was a little a miracle baby who fought so hard. She was the strongest little girl I ever had the pleasure of knowing.