Oaklyn is currently a feisty 3.5-year-old little girl! Although you’d never know it today without looking at the scars on her chest or the G-tube in her stomach, Oaklyn was born with multiple Congenital Heart Defects and Heterotaxy of the stomach.

Her most prominent CHD complications were (and still are) Transitional Common AV Canal, Single Ventricle, and Congestive Heart Failure which would result in five open heart surgeries, a pacemaker implant, and a GI surgery to add a G-tube before her second birthday. Oaklyn is a twin and she also has an older brother who was four when she was born. The girls were born just a little early at 36 weeks, due to Oaklyn’s heart giving out. Her twin sister was able to leave Iowa City Children’s Hospital two weeks after being born, while Oaklyn would be there almost a year straight with multiple failed attempts at home, two hours away.

Oaklyn is making up for lost time nowadays! She loves to be outside and play with her siblings. She has a battery-operated Jeep that she loves to drive around our yard. After all those years being tied up with tubes, she loves to just move! Oaklyn loves Frozen and Mickey, she asked to be Ana for Halloween this year and her twin sister will be Elsa. They are so excited! After our home nurse finished her master’s degree and accepted an awesome job outside our home, we decided it was time to try out preschool for Oaklyn. She has thrived and is loving every minute of it! She has made so many new friends and is keeping up great with her sister! We know this is a lifelong battle and Oaklyn has a long road ahead of her with many unknowns, but she is tough, and we are enjoying every day right along with her!

I cannot thank Make-A-Wish enough for the generous donation of a playset for Oaklyn. You don’t think about all the simple things ‘normal’ kids get to do until you have a child you need to pay extra attention to. Oaklyn’s brother and sister got to go to parks and school, but we never took Oaklyn. She was either between heart procedures and we needed to keep her healthy for surgery or COVID was around and was such a high concern with the potential clotting issues that may cause if she caught it. Once COVID hit, parks shut down and we tried to keep our other kids healthy by limiting exposure. When the Make-A-Wish opportunity arose and we asked Oaklyn what she wanted, there was no hesitation that she wanted her own park! What a wonderful gift for her to grow with and share with her siblings.

After years of Oaklyn having to battle through everyday tasks like eating, drinking, breathing, etc. It is amazing to watch her climb, swing and run around enjoying this gift. A million times over, thank you to everyone involved.

-Oaklyn’s mom, Cassie

Together we create life changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Thanks to donors and supporters like you, Oaklyn’s wish was made possible. Thank you for delivering hope and happiness to Oaklyn and her family!