Our Founders

Annie and Steve Zolman are the Founders of Tiny Hero and reside in the beautiful mountains of Alpine, Utah. They have a busy household of 6 children whom they admirably refer to as the heart of the Tiny Hero team; Eliza 19, Katherine 18, Savannah 16, Zach 14, Dean 12, and Adam, the original Tiny Hero, who is soon-to-be 9.

In their own words: “In 2014, we received the devastating CDH diagnosis at our 20-week ultrasound, and our world turned upside down. We felt heartbroken with the news that our son’s very severe case of CDH put him in a low survival category. Feeling a lack of support, we began our own research, seeking out optimal care and hoping and praying for a miracle. We ultimately relocated our family to Florida and, after an expected roller coaster recovery brought Adam back home to Utah. Before we left the hospital, we contemplated our arduous journey, which, until we went to Florida, came with little support and vowed to pave the way for better answers and care for future CDH families. There was no reason for anyone else to feel like they are walking this path alone. Thus, the idea of Tiny Hero was planted, and in 2015, we became an official non-profit.”

Steve, a native of Utah, and Annie, a Colorado native, met at college in Idaho and raised their kids in Utah. Annie received her bachelor’s degree in nursing at the University of Utah while Steve took the reins in launching a successful home security business. Annie worked as a registered nurse before starting a family, though she remains licensed as an RN. Steve continues to juggle real estate ventures while growing a new security company. They enjoy family vacations, horseback riding, boating, and cheering each other on at extracurricular activities. Steve loves hunting with their kids, while Annie prefers some beach time with family, playing in the waves. Usually, they can squeeze in both!

Because of a very busy phase of life with raising kids, Annie turned the reins over to Barb Lamb to become Executive Director, not wanting to stifle any growth for Tiny Hero. Annie and Steve are still very much involved in the ultimate goal and vision for caring for their Tiny Hero families, ensuring CDH is not considered fatal, and are consistently seeking ways to educate others on their vision of optimal care in the CDH world.

Read their story:

On January 24, 2014, our little family went to a routine ultrasound appointment to see our 6th baby in motion and confirm we were having a boy. We were surprised and shocked to find out he would be born with a left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia, which happens in about 1 in 3,000 births.

About 10 days after diagnosis, we found out that along with his stomach, intestines, and spleen, Adam's liver was also (up) in his chest, and that his chances for survival had now decreased to 20-30% (liver up, LHR less than 0.75). Babies who have their liver down have over 90% survival. The national overall survival rate (combining liver up and down cases) is only about 50%. We began a whirlwind 8 weeks of diagnostics, phone calls to hospitals across the nation, research, and long conversations as a family to decide where and how to best care for our son.

After much research, divine intervention, and lots of support, we found Dr. David Kays and his wonderful team at UF Health Shands Children's Hospital in Gainesville, Florida (Dr. Kays has moved to All Children's in St Petersburg, Florida). We consulted with top-rated, nationally recognized hospitals, but there was such a glaring stark contrast in their approach vs. Dr. Kays. Dr. Kays is a gifted surgeon who has a deep personal interest and dedication to CDH babies in his care. His continuity of care was unprecedented- he was the only one in charge of Adam from the day he was born until discharge. The NICU team was also exceptional, and several nurses and therapists were well-trained with extensive experience when it comes to CDH babies. They also have a dedicated NICU pharmacist who pays close attention to the pharmaceutical and overall medical needs of the babies. Thankfully, our insurance plan was fully accepted.

Adam was born about the full term, on June 2, 2014, with a team of numerous people, as well as Dr. Kays, in the room to administer immediate life-sustaining care. He was as severe as predicted, and the decision was made to have his CDH repair done on the day he was born when he was about 6 hours old. This was an aggressive move, but knowing he would almost inevitably need ECMO, it was the right choice. It was a long and complicated surgery; he only had about 5% of his diaphragm on his left side.

They were able to keep Adam off ECMO for 72 hours after surgery, which was a huge win for our team. We know this was due to not only our's and Adam's will to fight but also because of such an amazing doctor, nurses, and team of people caring for him.

Adam spent 23 days on ECMO and then was able to be weaned off the ventilator to CPAP a week later, at 5 weeks old. Tests showed he had severe reflux, as expected, and getting him to eat was the next hurdle. He had a Nissen and G-Tube surgery when he was about 8 weeks old and was finally able to eat. Mom pumped breast milk all that time, and Adam was able to successfully breastfeed at 9 weeks old!

We took Adam back to our home state of Utah after 90 days in the NICU, where he continues to thrive in a loving home environment full of the sounds of family life.

We have an incredible amount of gratitude for Dr. Kays, Joy Perkins, and the fantastic people in the hospital who cared for not only Adam but our entire family during our stay.

Adam has no idea of what his little body has already been through, but I imagine his heart and soul are stronger because of the struggle. He is a regular toddler in many ways, tearing apart cabinets, curiously throwing small toys down heating vents, and even catching on to bedtime stalling techniques, like suddenly becoming very thirsty and hungry when we put him in his crib! I catch on, of course, but sometimes I take him out and hold him just a little longer because I remember how we started.

Now I am one of "those people." You know, the ones who say, "even if I could give this journey back, I wouldn't." I understand now why they say that. If I give back CDH, my life goes back to what it was before. I give back the character and resilience I learned, the friendships formed both in and out of the hospital, and the realization of the true fabric of existence.

Sometimes in life, we look around and notice the "different" and fail to remember that although unique in many ways, we are also very much the same. When we eliminate the background noise of life, remove the worries that just aren't that important, we begin to see more clearly what connects us together.

We founded Tiny Hero to help CDH families find the best care, a supportive community, and a hope-filled future! We are honored to have you be a part of this journey to infuse the CDH world with the optimism, understanding, and support that this community needs. We invite you to come along with us because together we are stronger!