Debi Corrigan, who was seven months pregnant, was shopping for spring flowers at a garden center in Wichita, Kansas, when she fell.

She landed on her left arm, protecting her abdomen, but shattered her elbow so badly that doctors implanted a rod in her arm. Her elbow was throbbing, but other than that, she felt fine, aside from the pain that is common in late pregnancy.

To be extra careful, the doctor suggested another ultrasound of the baby.

The sonographer looked at the image and said, “There’s a problem.”

“You mean by your elbow?” she said.

“No, with your baby.”

The baby’s heart was larger than necessary. The reason was unknown. Debi and her husband Brian Corrigan couldn’t understand. At an imaging test just two months ago, their baby appeared perfectly healthy.

Over the next month, doctors monitored Debi closely. They decided the best place for her to give birth was at a hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, nearly three hours away and 10 minutes from a children’s hospital that could treat the baby.

Zoe was born by Caesarean section in late June 2000, one month before her due date. Debi’s family is from Greece, and the name Zoe means “life” in Greek.

Debi wasn’t able to hold her newborn baby and didn’t have time to take the baby’s footprints.

Zoe underwent an echocardiogram. This is a test to see how the floodwaters flow within the heart. Brian then rode with her in an ambulance to the children’s hospital. Zoe went straight to the neonatal intensive care unit.

Zoe had an aortic aneurysm, a bulging part of the aorta. Some people are born with an aneurysm, which occurs when part of the artery wall becomes weak. Doctors didn’t know Zoe’s cause. She also had blood leaking to the left side of her heart.

She had another condition known as water hammer pulse. This is a strong pulsation often seen when blood flows backwards into the left ventricle. Also called Corrigan’s vein.

During a meeting with doctors, one doctor noticed Brian’s last name.

“Do you know your family history?” the doctor asked.

Brian did. This was an amazing coincidence. His ancestor, the European physician Sir Dominic John Corrigan, was the one who discovered the water hammer pulse in the 1800s.

When Zoe was five days old, she underwent thumb-sized heart surgery to repair an aneurysm and stop blood leaking. It was successful. She stayed in the ICU for several weeks. When her girlfriend Debi held her for the first time, they were both still recovering from their respective surgeries.

In addition to the usual challenges of having a newborn and Zoe’s 14-year-old brother Christian at home, Debi and Brian gave Zoe three pills a day for a year. They took her to the pediatrician every few days to check that she was gaining weight.

As Zoe grew older, doctors told her that high-impact sports were too dangerous. Debi was worried about developmental delays. But Zoe has grown up.

She took up golf and excelled in art. Zoe studied ballet, tap, and jazz, and she also did competitive show choir and musical theater. One of her first roles was as Munchkin in a community theater production of The Wizard of Oz. She has also appeared in “Sweeney Todd” and “Into the Woods.” During her high school years, she won the prestigious Musical Theater Award.

She also volunteers with the American Heart Association and participates in heart walks with her family to raise awareness of heart disease.

But it was only while working on her college application essay that Zoe fully explored the drama surrounding her first days of life.

“That’s when I realized the significance and potential of my surgery,” Zoe said.

Zoe, now 23 years old, has a degree in business administration from Georgetown University and works as a credit analyst at a bank in Washington, DC.

The only reminders of her heart surgery are the faded scar on her sternum, her blood pressure medication and her annual visit to the cardiologist. Her doctors are monitoring her valve, which is still slightly leaky. Zoe stays active by walking and doing yoga.

“On the surface, you wouldn’t know I had a heart problem,” she said. “I feel very lucky and grateful to be able to live a very normal life. There is no age or one-size-fits-all picture of what heart disease looks like.”

The necklaces that Debi’s mother, Zoe’s “Yiayia”, made for the whole family to commemorate Zoe’s birth and recovery also remind Zoe and her parents of the life-saving treatment she received. The Greek word “Zoe” is printed on the cross pendant.

“Zoe was our little miracle baby,” Debi said. “She always has a very positive attitude and she’s in very, very good spirits today.”

Stories from the Heart chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers, and supporters.