Fighting For James

Hello my name is Kim Smith, and this is about my 2 year old grandson James( Little Bubba). He will be 3 in June he is a survivor of a rare Congenital Heart Disease. Our family didn't know about his condition before he was born, we were expecting a healthy boy- the first in the family! He has two older sisters and 9 cousins that are all girls!  He wouldn't eat and all he wanted to do is sleep on his birthday. His mommy knew something wasn't right. After a few tests he was immediately tranferred to some of the best Doctors in the world to help him live  past his thrid day of life. His diagnosis was complex and needed  some time to decide the best surgical plan  for him, so he spent the next 5 days in a medically induced coma before undergoing his  first open heart surgery (Norwood)at just 8 days old. He has a Supravalvular Mitral Membrane, a Parachute Mitral Valve, Aortic Atresia & Coarctation of the Aorta(Known as Shone's Complex)as well as Endocardial Fibreolastosis(EFE)-meaning the left side of his heart is severely underdeveloped. Because of the EFE there was no way they could attempt to save his left vertical, so he is Classified as a variation of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. After a series of 3 planned open heart surgeries he would live on just the right side of his heart, also classified as Single Ventricle. At some point, his heart will wear out and he will go into heart failure and be listed for a transplant.That was pretty ruff on everyone. He spent a month in the hospital after his first surgery. The surgery was extremely complex and left him in a very fragile state until he could undergo his 2nd open heart surgery(Glenn), witch required him to be a little bigger and stronger. He started to look sick again when he was 3 months old. He went in for a cardiac catheterization and they determined it was time. His mommy and daddy had to hand him over, once again, for another long complex surgery. He was in the hospital several weeks recovering with some complications, but he made it through. Six weeks later he began physical therapy since he was really behind compared to the other babies his age due to hospitalizations. The bills were racking up, but his parents insisted on doing whatever it takes to help him survive and have a "normal" life, even if it meant sacrificing everything. Family and friends came together to help them begin unbury themselves out of the mountain of medical & therapy bills,prescrition costs for all of his medications, and everyday household bills since they were off of work so long to care for him. His fight wasn't over, A few months before he turned 2 he went in for another cardiac catheterization. Even thought he's on the small side and not yet sick again. He was ready for his 3rd open heart surgery. The doctors told his parents that they would allow him to celebrate his birthday at home, but surgery would follow just 2 weeks later. he was aware of what's going on and it was very scary for him. It's scary for everyone, especially for his sisters who took it very hard. He had his 3rd open heart surgery (Fontan) on June 18th 2015. It's been a ruff recovery. He's 2 and just wants to play, he does not understand the pain he goes through. his recovery was  months with countless appointments, he needed his mommy and daddy by his side, there's no one that knows him better- and they are always there for him. They have risked everything once again to make sure he survives. I am raising money to cover his current medical costs as well as any emergency medical expenses in the future in the event his heart fails, as it can take anywhere from months to a year to find a donor. Thank you for reading his story.