Baby needs heart transplant

When Stephanie and Matt Cohen of Hoboken got married, they envisioned starting a family.  Just three years later, Madison was born.

Although she looked perfect, her parents already knew that something was very wrong with Madison's heart.  Madison's 20 week ultrasound revealed she had the congenital heart disease, hypoplastic right heart syndrome.

"It was a complete shock that day, the same day we found it was a baby girl, we tried to move as positively forward as we can," Stephanie Cohen said.

Now one month old, Madison has had several surgeries at Columbia Presbyterian Morgan Stanley's Children's Hospital.  She needs a heart transplant.  The average wait time is about three months.

"It's a rollercoaster but Madison is stable is right now, every day it changes until the heart comes," Cohen said.

Stephanie's sister started a GoFundMe page for Madison.  Although they have insurance, many of Madison's post-transplant and other future medications won't be covered.  The page has already exceeded the goal and the Cohen's expectations on just how kind complete strangers can be.

"We're just so happy people have been so supportive," Matt Cohen says.  "Whatever we can't use for Madison we're going to donate to other families in need."

Despite everything the family is going through, they remain hopeful.

"She's definitely a fighter, she's been through so much, more than people experience in their whole lives," Stephanie Cohen says.

The Cohens say they chose the name Madison because it's derived from Matthew, meaning gift from God.

"She'll definitely do something great, definitely will inspire others," Stephanie Cohen says.