Ava Zimmerman was only 93 days old when she died, but her parents continuously aim to give a meaning and a purpose to her short life.

Jamie Zimmerman, along with her husband, Jamie, and 4-year-old son, Brayden, welcomed Ava on Sept. 29, 2007. She was 7 pounds 7 ounces. What had seemed to be one of the happiest days soon turned the family upside down.

When she was born, the nurses found a heart murmur and recommended that Ava be taken to the University of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital. At just 2 days old, Ava had her first surgery in an attempt to correct her interrupted aortic arch and truncus arteriosis. She came out of surgery and seemed to be recovering until her seventh week, when doctors discovered that her truncal valve, which replaced her aortic valve, was leaking and she needed to have another operation.

“After Ava was born and we found out she had heart defects, our world came crumbling down,” said Ava’s mother. “It’s a parent’s worst nightmare and we naively believed that something like this would never happen to us. Now we know how rough life can be and that you never know what tragedy life might bring your way.”

The second operation brought about unexpected complications. After being in surgery for 12 hours, Ava was placed on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine (ECMO), which is a form of life support.

“At this point, we were still hopeful that she had a chance to survive as the staff believed that if her heart was given a rest on the ECMO machine, then maybe it would recuperate,” Jamie said.

Instead, Ava developed sepsis and antibiotic treatments to cure it were unsuccessful. On Jan. 2, 2008, the Zimmermans decided to make an attempt to allow their daughter’s heart to function on its own and they took her off of the ECMO machine.

“We knew the chances of this working were slim, and we soon had to say our goodbyes to our precious baby girl,” her mother said. “I held her in my arms as they took her off life support.”

After Ava’s death, the Zimmermans looked for ways to honor her memory. They donated Jamie’s breast milk to the hospital’s milk bank for children who were sick; participated in several 5K runs; helped with the Ronald McDonald House, Hearts of Hope and several other charities.

Three years later, they focus on two big events annually to honor and remember Ava, including a blood drive.

“We wanted to do a blood drive because Ava had many transfusions in her short life and we wanted to do something connected to her,” Jamie said. “We thought it would be a great way to give back to the community and to keep her in the minds and hearts of all the people who had supported us through our tragic experience.”

More than 75 people donated blood in the first drive, and that number continues to grow each year. The goal for the blood drive is always to recruit more donors and do more to help the community.

In addition to the annual blood drive, the Zimmermans organize a poker run that funds Ava’s Heart Foundation at Mott Children’s Hospital. They have raised $18,000 from the poker runs.

“Time has started to heal us,” Jamie said. “Our 1-year-old, Avary, who was named after his big sister, is our miracle baby. He allowed us to hit a turning point and gave us hope for the future.”

The Zimmermans took precautions while Avary was still in utero. Jamie had an ecocardiogram to make sure her unborn child’s heart was healthy. An ultrasound would have been insufficient because it only counts the chambers of the heart.

Brayden, who is now 7 years old, was a great help to his parents as the coped with the death of their second child.

“He was and still is amazing,” Jamie said. “He brings Ava up more than we do. He always says that pennies are from heaven, from Ava. I probably wouldn’t have survived without Brayden. He was the reason I got out of bed each day.”

The Zimmermans are still coping with their loss, but each passing day together brings them more and more happiness.

“Our lives are changed forever,” Jamie said. “Now we are not so naive, and we are in the healing process.”

Anyone who wishes to donate blood for Ava’s Heart Foundation may do so year-round through the South Bend Medical Foundation.