A Very Special Friend
You may remember a special little girl named Virsaviya. We’ve covered her story before. She has an extremely rare disease that caused her to be born with her heart outside of her chest. But that’s not what makes her special. God blessed this 6-year-old girl with an the incredible spirit and purpose, and that’s what impressed us most.
Credit: Instagram
This precious girl was already blessed with a loving mom and a profound understanding that Jesus made her the way she is for a reason. But even so, only one in a million babies are born with Virsaviya’s unique medical condition, and most don’t survive. So, the brave girl was bound to feel a certain amount of loneliness in being “one of a kind.” No one could understand exactly what she was going through or what it was like to have such a special heart.
Credit: Instagram
But recently, God gave Virsaviya a very special gift. She got to meet another little girl with the same disease and who is just like her!
Credit: Inside Edition
Like Virsaviya, 3-year-old Audrey is a miracle. When she was born and doctors found her heart outside of her body, they told her mother, Ashley, that there was very little chance she’d survive. Doctors at the Texas Children's Hospital performed an incredibly delicate surgery where they implanted Audrey’s heart back inside of her body and covered it with a thin layer of skin. This procedure was not available to Virsaviya, who was born in Russia.
Credit: Inside Edition
Though the surgery was a success, Ashley was warned that babies who survive the operation usually die 3 days later. But like Virsaviya, Audrey defied the odds, and this was her at 6 months old.
Credit: Inside Edition
Her mom said, “She is a miracle, she is, she's proved everybody wrong. To be able to see her run, and walk and talk, I am very proud, very blessed.”
Credit: Inside Edition
So, when the two girls -- Audrey in Texas and Virsaviya now in Florida -- learned of each other, they begged their moms to let them meet. They were friends in no time, and spent the day enjoying a picnic, playing doctor, using toy stethoscopes to listen to each other’s hearts, and finally visiting Build-A-Bear together.
Credit: Inside Edition
Ashley says,
“She [Audrey] knows what she’s going through, and to see another child with the same condition is just amazing.”
Credit: Inside Edition
But the meeting also meant a lot to the moms.
"It gives us courage that Audrey will be six years old," says Ashley, Audrey’s mom.
What a beautiful blessing for God to bring these two special girls together! We will continue to pray for their health, and for the new friendship they’ve found in each other. Do we serve an awesome God, or what?
For another special friendship, check out who this bride chose to be her very memorable maid of honor!
Romans 8:28
h/t: GodUpdates