Zayden Emilio Sandoval Sanchez

Zayden Emilio Sandoval Sanchez was born at 6:49 AM on Thursday, July 30, 2020 at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. At 35 weeks pregnant during a routine ultrasound, the baby boy Stephanie was carrying, Zayden, was diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), which is a congenital heart defect that severely affects blood flow through the heart. After hours of additional tests, the cardiology specialist explained that Baby Zayden was missing part of his heart.

After a courageous battle and open-heart surgery, Zayden returned to the arms of God on Tuesday, August 4th. While his life was short-lived physically on Earth, Zayden lived joyfully in his mommy’s belly for 35 weeks. Zayden was a warrior and initially did so much better than the doctors predicted. The medical experts said he wouldn’t be able to breathe on his own, but he did so for 4 days without assistance. They also said Zay would need such close monitoring that the parents would not be able to hold him or have any contact, but exactly the opposite happened. Both Stephanie and Isaic were allowed to be with Zayden in the hospital and not only hold their boy close but also feed him and even change his diaper. Baby Zayden was already showing off his sweet personality and easy-going temperament.

Zayden lived a mere five days on this Earth, but his life actually began 35 weeks prior, and he was loved by so many from the first day Steph found out she was pregnant. In our family, we believe that life begins at conception, and we loved Zayden since the first time we heard his heartbeat. We treasured every moment of Zayden’s life while Stephanie was pregnant, and the entire family loved him and was so excited to meet him. So even though we won’t be able to see or hold him physically, we will always be able to see his angelic face in our minds and hearts. The memory of Zayden’s beautiful smile will always bring a smile to all of our faces.

Zayden fulfilled his purpose and was carried to heaven by angels when his time on this Earth came to an end on August 4, 2020. God called him back home. He fought a valiant fight, and truthfully, he won because he is now being carried through the streets of gold by our Heavenly Father. Zayden is forever a shining star and will watch over his mommy and daddy and wait for them to come home. He is no longer in pain and there will be no more suffering. The entire family is heartbroken and will miss Zay every day, but we know he is better off and will be safe in the arms of God.

Dear, sweet Zay, you will be our angel forever. You touched so many hearts and you brought out every possible emotion in your loved ones. We cried, we laughed, we worried, we feared the worst, and now it’s time to say, see you again one day precious Zayden. It’s not goodbye because your memory will always be in our hearts. You left us with so much love, and we are at peace because you knew you were loved. We bonded with you so much in the five days we had you. Zayden, we are so very grateful for those moments with you, and we will always celebrate the time we had with you. We’ll remember you always with a smile like the one you gave us at the beginning and until the end…letting us know that everything was going to be ok.

Visitation with the family will be held on Tuesday, August 11, 2020 from Noon until 8:00 p.m. Services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday in the Waltrip Chapel.

Due to Covid 19 restrictions masks and social distancing is essential. The family will be arranging with guests specific times for attendance so all may have an opportunity to share their condolences.