Adoption helps girl find a family of her very own

by Jessica Pope

Born to a drug-addicted mother, Chelsea Hendley entered this world on May 25, 2000, at a Camden County hospital. At first glance, she was a seemingly normal newborn, healthy in appearance, with 10 tiny fingers and toes and an ear-piercing wail.

Within a few days of her birth, however, Chelsea was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, meaning the left side of her heart — including the aorta, aortic valve, left ventricle and mitral valve — was underdeveloped. Blood returning from her lungs was being forced to flow through an opening in the wall between the atria (atrial septal defect), and her right ventricle was being forced to pump blood into the pulmonary atery, with it reaching the aorta through a patent ductus arteriosus. As her ductus began closing, she became ashen and experienced difficulty feeding and rapid and difficult breathing.

Doctors prepared Chelsea’s birth mother for the worst possible scenerio as the heart defect usually proves fatal. Babies suffering from hypoplastic left heart syndrome typically die within the first days or months of life, according to the American Heart Association Inc., unless treated (it’s not correctable) with a series of operations or a heart transplantation.

Chelsea underwent her first surgery, known as the Norwood procedure, at the tender age of six weeks. This resulted in her right ventricle being able to pump blood to both of her lungs and her body. Until that operation was performed, her ductus was being kept open by intravenous medication.

A second procedure was scheduled when Chelsea turned six months old, followed by a third one at the age of 4. These operations (referred to by many names including bi-directional Glenn, Fontan operation and lateral tunnel) created a connection between her veins returning blue blood to the heart and the pulmonary artery, allowing her right ventricle to pump only oxygenated blood to the body and to prevent, or at least reduce, the mixing of the red and blue blood.

Chelsea’s birth mother was told her little girl would require lifelong follow-up by a cardiologist to ensure her heart was working properly. She was also told she would require heart medicines and would be at an increased risk for infection on the heart’s valves, known as endocarditis, making the use of antibiotics necessary before dental work and certain surgeries.

When her birth mother overdosed on cocaine in 2004, Chelsea was placed in the Georgia foster care system and in the home of a family in the area of Lowndes and Echols counties. It was there that she met Israel Hendley, a Georgia State Patrol officer, and his wife, Cathy Swilley, a nurse at South Georgia Medical Center, who were caring for three other foster children and who would become the family she always dreamed of in time.

“We knew her from the get-go,” Cathy said. “We knew from the moment we met her that she was not going anywhere.”

On June 4, 2005, Chelsea moved into the Echols County home of longtime foster parents Israel and Cathy, who also has three adult children from a previous marriage — Brandon Rogers, 22, Trey Rogers, 21, and Brittany Rogers, 19. It was her third foster home placement in about a year’s time.

“Her birth mother’s parental rights had been terminated, but her foster parents at the time were not in a position to adopt her,” Cathy said. “We asked that she be placed with us because we had already fallen in love with her. Before her, we had never really thought about adopting. With her, we knew it was what we were supposed to do.”



Israel’s and Cathy’s adoption of Chelsea was finalized on October 9, 2006. The couple readily admits that having a 6-year-old in the house keeps them on their toes and on the go around the clock. However, they would not have it any other way.

Chelsea attends kindergarten at Echols County Elementary School, where she loves her teacher and making new friends. She enjoys taking modeling lessons at Amanda’s Models and Talent, watching television, getting her nails — fingers and toes — painted, shopping and entering beauty pageants. She has won numerous titles around the region — as evidenced by the plethora of sparkling crowns and trophies on her bedroom dresser — currently holding the ones of Tiny Miss Echols, Tiny Miss Winnersville and Tiny Miss Hahira Honey Bee.

“We call her our Miss Priss,” Cathy said. “She’s 100 percent girl.”

Chelsea calls Israel and Cathy Daddy and Mama. When asked how she feels about them, her cheeks turn red as a big grin spreads across her face.

Although Israel and Cathy are unsure of Chelsea’s future medically, they focus their efforts on treating her like every other child in America. They make sure she takes her medications and gets enough rest daily, take her for regular checkups with a pediatric cardiologist and love her unconditionally.

“She truly is a little miracle,” Cathy said.

“She’s spoiled rotten,” Israel added, smiling at his daughter. “That’s what she is.”

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