NOBLESVILLE, Ind–A Noblesville girl who was born with “half a heart” was selected to be a 2026 Riley Champion, an award that showcases resilience and grit by turning challenge into strength while inspiring others as they navigate complex medical situations with courage.
Hannah Ginther is 11 years old now. She was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. That is a rare congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped and incapable of supporting the systemic circulation.
“Hannah has come a long way in her journey. We couldn’t be more proud of where she’s at today,” said Hannah’s mother, Trinity Ginther.
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Trinity says it’s not common for people to live with a “half a heart”, but it can be very complicated. She explains Hannah’s experience.
“Hannah had her first open heart surgery when she was 10 days old. Then she had her second when she was eight months old and her third surgery when she was two years old,” said Trinity.
Hannah had pulmonary hypertension and went into heart failure after her third surgery. So, she was immediately put on a transplant list. She got a new heart when she was three and a half years old.
The next complication came when she had to navigate the medications she’s taking.
“So when you are immune compromised, which she is because we give her medication to compromise her immune system so it doesn’t reject her heart, it can do a lot of other things to her body. She was in and out a couple times with random things that we never would have thought of. One of those things was gastroparesis where her stomach would not squeeze. It would not digest the food. That’s not something you would think would have anything to do with her heart, but it had to do with her being immune compromised,” said Trinity.
She’s overcome all of that and now Hannah likes to play sports like volleyball and basketball. One of her passions is makeup.
“I think she may try out for the cheer team at her school next year. She just loves to be active and involved in things,” said Trinity.
That can be tricky because she has only one functioning lung.
“It can be a little challenging for her because she does get a little out of breath. Hannah doesn’t realize that. She thinks she’s fine, but we get very nervous about it because we hear her breathing hard. To her, though, that’s normal because that’s what she’s lived with,” said Trinity.
Along with advocating for care for kids as a Riley Champion, the Ginther family donates Play-Doh to the Riley Cheer Guild.
“When Hannah was sick in the hospital, she played with Play-Doh a lot. It was good for her to use her hands, but it also just gave her something to do. She was in and out of the hospital a lot for the first several years of her life. At her one year anniversary, we had a Play-Doh drive and donated a lot of Play-Doh to the Riley Cheer Guild,” said Trinity.
February is American Heart Month. It’s a month that helps raise awareness about heart disease, promote heart health, and encourage lifesaving actions like learning CPR.
