Abby Braden

Board Member

Abby serves on the team at Heterotaxy Connection, bringing both professional expertise and lived experience to the community. She first heard the word “heterotaxy” in 2016, when an otherwise uneventful pregnancy suddenly changed course. Her daughter, Alaina, was born shortly thereafter and required emergency bowel surgery soon after birth. Alaina died at seven months old due to complications of biliary atresia, a liver disease associated with heterotaxy.

In the months following Alaina’s death, Abby found purpose in volunteering with Heterotaxy Connection as a way to honor her daughter’s life and support other families navigating rare and complex diagnoses. Her work is driven by a desire to connect families, clinicians, researchers, and scientists in meaningful ways—so fewer families have to face devastating outcomes without support or understanding.

Today, Abby is encouraged by continued advances in heterotaxy research and clinical care. She balances her role as a clinical psychologist with life as a mom to four living children and is grateful to contribute her skills and perspective to Heterotaxy Connection. Alaina’s memory remains a quiet but constant influence in her work and advocacy.