For Markie Ostler, becoming a mother was always her greatest dream. Raised in a big family, surrounded by children and laughter, she knew early on that motherhood was where her heart belonged. When she welcomed her first son, Urban, in July 2016, that dream felt complete—and yet, almost immediately, she felt there was room for more love.

So when Markie, just 27 years old, discovered she was pregnant again only months later, she was overjoyed.

“I was ecstatic,” she later shared. “I had always felt like I needed my kids really close together.”

But joy slowly gave way to fear.

During her first trimester, Markie suffered severe morning sickness. On several occasions, she experienced heavy bleeding—so intense that she believed she was miscarrying. Each time, she braced herself for heartbreak. And each time, she held her breath.

When her first ultrasound arrived, relief washed over her.

“I was so happy to see a perfect little tadpole with a very strong heartbeat,” she wrote later.

Still, something deep inside her felt uneasy.

As the 20-week anatomy scan approached—a routine ultrasound meant to detect developmental issues—Markie’s anxiety intensified. On the way to the appointment, she vomited three times. Her body knew before her mind would allow it.

During the scan, she FaceTimed her husband, Andrew, who was away on business. Then the words came that shattered their world.

Doctors told them their unborn daughter had four severe congenital heart defects

, conditions so complex that her chance of survival was heartbreakingly slim.

“I could sense the whole time that something was wrong,” Markie said. “And when they told us, it was like everything collapsed. It wasn’t relief—but it was validation. A mother’s intuition.”

The diagnosis was devastating: Double Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV), atrioventricular canal defect, pulmonary stenosis, and hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Together, these conditions meant Everly’s heart was dangerously malformed—unable to pump oxygenated blood properly through her body.

Doctors explained the complexity by drawing diagrams by hand. There were no simple examples. No easy explanations. Only uncertainty.

Still, Markie and Andrew chose hope.

On November 6, 2017, Everly Jo was born via caesarean section. The moment she entered the world, doctors rushed her away, connecting her to machines designed to mimic the safety of the womb—keeping her body alive while her fragile heart struggled to function.

Two hours later, Markie finally held her daughter for the first time.

“I probably kissed her a million times,” she said. “I just kept telling her to be strong. That she would get through this.”

Everly endured more in her first days of life than many endure in decades.

At just three days old, she underwent her first open-heart surgery, where doctors inserted a BT shunt to regulate blood flow between her heart and lungs. A week later, she faced another surgery—her tiny chest reopened once more in the fight for survival.

Against the odds, she began to improve.

Her condition stabilized enough that she was moved to the cardiac recovery unit. Her parents dared to believe. They told loved ones that Everly was getting stronger. That she might come home.

Then, on December 9, the phone rang.

Everly’s heart had stopped.

As Markie rushed down the hospital hallway, she saw the lead surgeon raise his hands in surrender.

“That’s it,” he said. “There’s nothing we can do.”

Markie witnessed the moment no parent should ever see—the instant her child’s life ended.

“I didn’t just witness my daughter’s death,” she wrote. “I witnessed an entire room of medical professionals as their hearts broke too.”

Markie and Andrew held Everly’s lifeless body, whispering their goodbyes.

“I could feel she wasn’t there anymore,” Markie said. “Her spirit was gone. It wasn’t her body anymore.”

Days later, they buried their one-month-old daughter in a

tiny coffin.

Three months after laying her baby to rest, Markie speaks not just of grief—but of purpose.

She has dedicated herself to raising awareness about congenital heart defects, conditions that affect

1 in every 100 babies born in the United States.

“We need to find cures,” she wrote. “We need to give these babies a chance at life—so no other parent has to feel this pain.”

Everly Jo lived for just 33 days.

But in that short time, she was loved beyond measure. Kissed endlessly. Fought for fiercely.

And in her mother’s heart, she will live forever—not as a tragedy, but as a reminder that even the briefest lives can leave the deepest marks on this world.