About Us
Alanna and Angie are two heart moms who met at Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Their two children, Jack and Lyndi, were both born with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). Both Families spent years within the hospital and due to spending more time within a hospital with their children than at their homes Alanna and Angie have decided to help other families. Learn more about the Lane and Rock families and what drives them to help other families create moments while living with the hospital.
About Lyndi
Angie found out about Lyndi’s special heart at a 20 week anatomy scan. Lyndi was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). The palliative care course for HLHS is a series of 3 surgeries: The Norwood, Hemi-Fontan, and Fontan. Lyndi was born on February 3rd, 2020. She had her first major surgery at 1 day old to correct her tracheoesophageal fistula, something that went undiscovered on ultrasound. She had her first open heart surgery a week later. She recovered well and made it home just in time for the world to shut down due to Covid. Angie, a single mother, learned to navigate the complexities of motherhood with a medically ill child in a pandemic. Just before Lyndi turned 7 months old she went in for the hemi-fontan, and this is where her story is derailed. This surgery failed and she had multiple emergency procedures, including another open heart surgery to reverse her hemi-fontan. She was so sick that she was put on ECMO to save her life. Thankfully ECMO provided the rest she needed to recover. She would never qualify for the hemi-fontan again. She had 3 additional surgeries Between April-June 2021. Her surgeon was hopeful that her heart would stabilize and she could qualify for a heart transplant down the line. Unfortunately in July 2021, it was discovered that she had developed a rare and deadly disease called pulmonary vein stenosis, and her left pulmonary veins had completely occluded. This single diagnosis left Lyndi with no other options. Her doctors weren’t sure if she would make it to her 2nd birthday. And yet, she continued to thrive. Despite frequent and sometimes long hospitalizations due to illnesses, Angie held onto hope and created a life for Lyndi even inside hospital walls. Anytime spent outside the hospital was precious and used to see zoos, Lake Michigan, spend time in the garden, and swing and slide at the playgrounds. On April 1st, 2024 Lyndi passed away peacefully in her mother’s arm at home. 
About Jack
Alanna and Gordon found out about Jacks’ heart condition at 25 weeks into the pregnancy. Jack was diagnosed with HLHS, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Alanna and Gordon than decided to do an Amnio and discovered that Jack also had Jacobsen’s Syndrome. Jacobsen’s is a chromosome disorder where there is a deletion of part of the 11th chromosome. This chromosome disorder affected Jacks platelets, they do not function properly. Making it harder for clotting to occur and also how much oxygen moves thru his system. Jack was born June 15th, 2022 at Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan and went directly to the PCTU. After Jack was born it was discovered that his LVA was significantly smaller than his right. Due to this complication Jack had to have a the Hybrid procedure a week after his birth. While many children born with HLHS have their first surgery and get to home in a month Jack had to be intubated and stayed intubated for the first 5 months of his life. During this time he was able to grow enough to under go the Norwood surgery and than moved out of the PCTU. However, he wasn’t able to go home until Jack was 9 months old and he needed to go home on constant oxygen. Jack was only able to stay home a month before complication caused Alanna and Gordon to take him the ER at Helen Devos and than helicopter him back to Mott Children’s Hospital on April 14th, 2023.
This second stay for Jack would be hard battle, with constant mysterious infections, multiple Cath Lab procedures, one arrest due to complications and surgeries to try and get him ready for his Hemi-Fontane. Constantly moving between the PCTU and 11w floors, filled with moments of hope of going home only to have a complication that set everything back months. During the 2 years that Jack was in the hospital Alanna was able to stay at Ronald McDonald House constantly while Gordon had to return to work but every day he was at the hospital spending as much time with his family as possible. Jack was able to return home one more time after basically staying in the hospital 2 years. Alanna and Gordon were able to make memories at home before Jacks passing on May 14th, 2024.