A Tucson couple, Yulianna Cleto and Michael Flores, rejoice in the healthy arrival of their newborn daughter, Ramona, after overcoming significant medical challenges. Their journey took a dramatic turn during Cleto’s **21-week checkup**, when doctors identified a large mass on Ramona’s chest that was compressing her heart, leading to potential heart failure. Thanks to the intervention of the **Banner’s Fetal Care Center** at the **Diamond Children’s Medical Center**, their daughter received vital surgery before her birth.
Dr. **Kenneth Liechty**, a pediatric and fetal surgeon, performed the surgery while Ramona was still in her mother’s womb. “The majority of the kids that we’re operating on are babies that if we didn’t intervene would die,” Dr. Liechty explained. For Cleto and Flores, the news of their daughter’s condition was overwhelming. Flores recalled, “You meet this guy for the first time and he’s saying all of these big words that you don’t quite understand, but you just know it’s scary.”
Before Dr. Liechty’s arrival in Tucson three years ago, families faced dire situations like this without the option of local life-saving fetal surgeries. “We have the only fetal care center in the state that does the full range of fetal interventions,” Dr. Liechty noted. In the past, patients typically had to travel to facilities in **Denver** or **Los Angeles** for similar care.
At just one month old, Ramona has already undergone two surgeries and is scheduled for a third. Cleto and Flores view their daughter as a fighter, inspired in part by her namesake, her grandmother, whose rosary is placed near her in her crib. Cleto expressed deep gratitude towards Dr. Liechty, stating, “He’s a miracle worker. He’s blessed by God.”
Dr. Liechty remains optimistic about Ramona’s future, planning to monitor her development over the next year. He emphasized the significance of early intervention, saying, “We’re not just doing something later in life that prolongs life a little bit. We’re saving actually a whole lifetime by doing this early on.”
The couple continues to count their blessings with each passing day, filled with gratitude for the medical advancements that made Ramona’s life possible.