Zoey was born to her mother Taylor, 6 weeks early arriving at 3 lbs 8 oz.  Over a 7 week period in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit it was determined that she had a hole in her heart and a soft trachea.  

She could only feed by feeding tube insert down her nose to her stomach because  swallowing sent food into her lungs instead of her stomach.  Because of the soft trachea Zoey was not able to cry without her throat collapsing on itself; this created a cough.  Her lungs that were not formed properly, and she was also diagnosed with a duplicated chromosome. This indicated she would have health issues and learning disabilities. 

At 4 months weighing 8 pounds she had a g-tube feeding tube inserted in her stomach in London's Children's Hospital.  She had an undiscovered lung infection at this time with the result that she was on a ventilator for 4 days instead of just an hour through the surgery. Although that was a scary week within a few weeks we heard her first real cry.

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