My daughter Erika Denice Jackson,was born December 19,1970 with a hole in her heart (Atrial Septal Defect). She became sick at just four weeks old. Erika caught a cold and 

mucus began to accumulated inside of her. She was diagnosed with pneumonia was admitted to the hospital. The doctor said she had only a 50/50 chance of surviving the next two week. By the grace of God my baby pulled through.

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A cardiologist informed me that Erika had a heart murmur and he referred us to a hospital in Albany, Georgia.  At that hospital I Iearned my daughter had a hole in her heart. I knew about heart problems because my brother was born with one so I was not scared,I just didn’t know what issues Erika would encounter as she got older. I prayed and asked God to heal her. Erika kept getting sicker so the doctors prescribed numerous medications in effort to treat and prevent mucus buildup. I tried home remedies as well  but nothing worked.

 

We moved to Florida December 12,1972.  Erika was in and out of the ER and doctor's offices.  Finally at the age of 6,we were referred to a hospital in Pensacola, Florida.  Doctors there said Erika would need surgery because the hole in her heart would never close without repair and her arteries in her neck were displaced(the right was where the left should have been). That's when I got scared.

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Erika was six-and-a-half years old when I explained to her she needed surgery. We tried to make her life fun and nonetheless I did not care about money. We went to Disney World and to a lot of other places. I wanted her to remember the places she went to while she was laying in the hospital. The doctor had told me the surgery was very complicated. I was not sure if Erika was going to make it.

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While we were there,several other children passed away due to heart conditions and complications from surgery,but God kept my child. It was sad to see other people's children die while mine was still alive,but I knew God spared her life for a purpose. The

day after the surgery,the stitches separated from the patch and I wanted the doctor to go back and redo the surgery but they said Erika was too weak to have the another surgery. 

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The following year in Gainesville,Florida Erika had another surgery. She had too much muscle tissue on the left side of her heart and needed a pacemaker. Erika was in surgery for 12 hours to remove muscle tissue,close the hole and install pacemaker wires. Unfortunately she did't get the pacemaker,she had been open for too long and she would have died.  As a result, Erika became very restricted in her activity.  As her mother,I let her set her own limits and do as much as she felt she could do. By that time,I had given it to God.

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We moved to Nevada in 1983. Three years later,Erika contracted strep throat,which led to rheumatic fever and from there everything went wrong. Her hands and feet were swollen and no one could figure out what was wrong with her for the entire week she was hospitalized. I told the doctors these issues were likely connected to her heart but they insisted she had rheumatoid. After a feverish battle,the medical team finally listened to me. They sent us to a Specialist at Sunset Hospital. The Doctor there took one look at her and knew she had rheumatic fever, but there was nothing she could do. From April to December, all the doctors could do was blood gas tests twice a week and send them to UCLA for analysis. Although all of these medical  issues were occurring Erika managed to get accepted at UNLV for early studies program in June 26,1986 and maintained a 3.72 GPA. 

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I moved to California in October to be closer to UCLA and seek better medical care for my child. Erika stayed in Henderson,Nevada to finish the semester.  She came to California at Christmas and could hardly walk. Erika pain was nearly unbearable so I took her to UCLA

and the doctor wrote a prescription.

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Erika finally moved to California in January, and the doctor scheduled her for a catheter for February 11th and 13th she was having surgery to replace the heart valves. Erika coded during the surgery,but the medical team was able to bring her back. Doctors said they didn't know if she would survive much beyond the surgery. I prayed and asked God once again to save my child and he did.  In March I told the surgery didn't work.  Erika had congestive heart failure again and In May they did a triple bypass. This

 procedure involves doctors taking the veins out of your legs and placing them inside your heart. Once again they had to open her up,   because she got an infection in her chest. The surgery did not work and she had congestive heart failure. We planned to go to Jersey to a family reunion,but the doctor told me if I took her on the plane she would die.

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In November, Erika had yet another triple bypass. I was told again this surgery didn't work. Despite Erika missing large portions of her junior and senior year,she still graduated 16th in her class with honors.

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Initially, Erika didn't want to apply to college because she didn't think she would live long enough to attend. I told her God will decide how long she'll live,not the doctors. She was granted the National Achievement Scholarship for Outstanding Negro Students. Erika was accepted at Harvard,Princeton,Yale and Stanford. After she finished high school her doctor told her she could not go Stanford because they had put her on the list for a heart transplant. The insurance only paid  for 50% and UCLA referred me to an organization that could help me because I had no idea how I would pay for her heart transplant.

 

In November 02, 1988 Erika received a heart transplant. The surgery was success,with no rejection! Erika went on to Stanford University the following year and in 1993 went on to University of San  Diego for Law School. She went on to become a Deputy Attorney General in Los Angeles County.

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In May 2013, Erika endured another heart transplant because her heart could not handle anymore stents.  Doctors explained this transplant would be her last. Erika experienced a lot of complications.  First her Kidneys failed and she was in a coma. I kept asking God again to bring her back to me. Then in September of  2013, Erika suffered a stroke in the brain. She fought her way back and eventually returned to work. November 2014, she developed nodules on her lung and the day before Thanksgiving I was told she was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer.

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While enduring chemotherapy to treat breast cancer she was also diagnosed with legion on her brain (Brain Cancer). In June of 2015, the doctors informed us that Erika was not going to make it due to repeated infections. Erika had to discontinue chemotherapy and radiation. She had to make a number of medical decisions and adjustments including learning to walk with a life support machine, and eating with a tracheostomy tube in her throat. Erika passed away August 11,2015 she beat all the odds. Erika was a fighter!