MOUND, Minn. — It's been a long 8 months for Collin and Kate Baker since the birth of their daughter Elodie.
"It's been over 200 days since we've slept in a bed."
That's because the Bakers' have spent every minute of their time in a hospital room at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, hoping and praying for a miracle for their 8-month-old daughter Elodie.
"Our daughter was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy at 7 weeks old," said Kate Baker, Elodie's mother.
DCM is a rare heart disorder limiting the heart's ability to pump blood to the rest of the body, affecting three to four out of every 10,000 children.
"We had a full genetic workup when we decided to start a family and it came back negative for any sort of potential genetic cause, we had subsequent genetic testing after she was diagnosed and that also came back negative," said Kate.
A diagnoses which has shaken the bakers to their core.
"Our daughter's diagnoses is idiopathic, meaning the cause is unknown," explained Kate.
But what is known, is the love being poured out from the heart of those in the Mound community, raising awareness with a prayer and support for Elodie and her family.
"We see all the posts on our Caring Bridge site, we read every message, we know how involved our community is and we owe so many thank you's to so many people we just, we're so grateful," said Kate.
Both Kate and Collin have big dreams for their little one, despite the odds against her.
"Just a chance to live life, the greatest gift somebody could give is organ donation, I really believe that she is going to thrive if she gets that chance," said Collin, Elodie's father.
By the looks of it, she's destined to do just that and then some, with family and an entire community by her side every step of the way.
"She's thriving, she's learned how to sit up, she's learned how to crawl, she just pulled to stand for the first time today and she's only 8 months old and we're just super proud," said Kate.
Elodie is currently in the top five on a national waiting list for a heart transplant in her age group, which she'll need in order to survive.
A Go Fund Me page has been setup on Elodie's behalf which family says the money will go directly into a medical trust for her.
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