After delivering a baby girl in 1995, Chrissy Wafers sensed something wasn’t right with her newborn’s breathing.

“I was a young mother, and I don’t think they took me seriously,” she said. “The doctors seemed a little dismissive and made me second guess myself, that I was just worrying because I was a new mom.” 

But when baby Christyana got sick a few months later, sweating profusely during sleep and seemingly out of breath, Wafers took her to a doctor right away.

She learned Christyana not only had a respiratory virus but her oxygen levels were so low it indicated a heart condition. She was referred to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. 

The experience at Mott was immediately different for the then 19-year-old Detroit native who was preparing to start college. 

“What stood out for me wasn’t just their level of excellence but compassion,” Chrissy Wafers said.

“U-M treated me with respect and dignity and took time to explain things, not seeming to care about my age or background. They were warm, welcoming, took the time to listen, answer all my questions and thoroughly investigate what was going on. That always lives with me.”

The Mott congenital heart team diagnosed Christyana with atrioventricular septal defect. It meant she had holes between the chambers of the right and left sides of her heart, disrupting blood flow between them. She underwent open heart surgery within 24 hours of being examined at Mott in April 1995.

“Now they’re here for me again”

Today, nearly three decades later, Christyana Wafers is 29 years old. The Specs Howard School of Media Arts alumna works full time in information technology while doing graphic design work and singing rhythm and blues songs in Detroit on the side.

“I remember my family being extra cautious about me playing hard, always telling me that if I was out of breath or my heart started beating fast to tell them. And I remember the nightly ritual of putting cocoa butter on my surgery scar,” Christyana Wafers said.

“Otherwise, everything else in my childhood was completely normal, no restrictions.”

Still on the journey

In recent years, she began seeing Timothy Cotts, M.D., an adult congenital heart disease specialist at Mott.

“It’s always gratifying seeing patients like Christyana whose congenital heart journeys started as babies now living full lives in adulthood. Patients like her exemplify how far we’ve come in the field to improve care and outcomes,” Cotts said. 

 The mother-daughter duo recently reflected on their journey after Chrissy Wafers, who works for an airline, ran into Michigan Medicine CEO Marschall Runge, M.D. Ph.D., on a flight in 2023.

“It just brought back so many memories,” she said. “I was just grateful to be able to share my experience with him and to tell him how important Michigan Medicine is to families like ours. That what they do matters.”

“Because we ended up at the right place with the right people, Christyana is thriving. She’s vibrant and full of life. Nothing holds her back.”

And she still tells her adult daughter she’s her “miracle baby.”

“I was a young single mom in college with a child who had a heart condition, required an oxygen tank and special care,” she said.

“Knowing I was backed by a highly skilled medical team whose priority was keeping my baby safe, gave me the support and peace of mind to get through that time.”

It’s always gratifying seeing patients like Christyana whose congenital heart journeys started as babies now living full lives in adulthood. Patients like her exemplify how far we’ve come in the field to improve care and outcomes.” 

--Tim Cotts, M.D.

Feeling thankful

Christyana Wafers says she’s thankful for “an active, pretty normal childhood.”

Recent testing showed a leaky heart valve which may require repair later this year. 

But she knows she’s back in the right place.

 “I am super grateful for U-M being there for me and my mom all those years ago. If not for that support, I know I wouldn’t be here,” she said. 

 “And now, they’re here for me again.”

Sign up for Health Lab newsletters today. Get medical tips from top experts and learn about new scientific discoveries every week by subscribing to Health Lab’s two newsletters, Health & Wellness and Research & Innovation.

Sign up for the Health Lab Podcast: Add us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get you listen to your favorite shows.