When Susan became pregnant in the winter of 1994, she had a loving husband, a stable home, a life of faith-and soon, a baby to complete the picture of a perfect life. But everything changed the day she was rushed to the hospital for an emergency C-section a full two months before her due date.

Born weighing just two and a half pounds with a heart defect and Down syndrome, baby Ryan was given little odds of surviving his first few days. But he proved to be a fighter whose birth heralded the start of a tumultuous battle for survival.

In their quest to save Ryan's life, Susan and her husband navigated a dizzying maze of hospitals, doctors, treatments, and seemingly endless setbacks-eventually finding themselves going head-to-head against the overreaching, all-powerful authority of the medical establishment itself.

While I Breathe is a raw, poignant exploration of adversity, family, crisis, love, loss, and faith. It is a study of seeking light amid darkness and grace amid sorrow, and of the unconditional love between a mother and her child, a magical little boy who forever changed the hearts of everyone who came into his orbit.