Braxtyn's Open Heart Surgery

My 6 year old nephew Braxtyn is the sweetest little boy I've ever met. He's always thinking about everyone else and we've always said he has a huge heart. 

A couple of months ago, during a routine well check, Braxtyn's pediatrician noticed a faint heart murmur and decided to get him checked out by a cardiologist just to be safe. None of us thought it would be anything serious. One of my children has an 'innocent heart murmur' and it's a very common thing, so we weren't worried about the appointment. 

On June 30th 2016, my sister went alone with Braxtyn to the cardiologist. After an excruciatingly long ultrasound of his heart, they were led back to the room to wait for the doctor. When the doctor asked her to sit down, she knew it wasn't just an innocent heart murmur.

The doctor explained that Braxtyn has an Atrial Septal Defect. This is a hole between the upper two chambers of his heart. ASD is a common defect, but it normally closes on it's own by age one. Braxtyn will be 7 in October and the condition has caused the left side of his heart to become enlarged.  

After leaving the appointment, Braxtyn looked up at my sister and said, "See, Mom? I TOLD you I had a big heart!!" Poor girl couldn't hold it together after that... 

It is possible for an ASD to be repaired by doing a heart catheterization using a device to close the hole and avoid open heart surgery. Unfortunatley, Braxtyn's hole is too large and has no tissue around it to support the device.  After meeting with the surgeon, we've discovered that open heart surgery is our only viable option. 

It was decided to schedule the surgery for as soon as possible. Braxtyn will be required to stay in the ICU and will be hospitalized for up to a week following his surgery. Thankfully, they have insurance, but are still required to pay at least $10,000+ out of pocket for the surgery.

After finding out how expensive everything is, I knew I had to help cover some of the costs. 100% of the money raised will go directly to Braxtyn's medical costs and expenses associated with his surgery. 

Thank you SO MUCH for reading this and for caring about this sweet boy. I greatly appreciate every single donation made. Please throw any good thoughts and prayers our way. We all could really use them! None of us have slept in two weeks. Any knowledge or advice from others who have been there are much appreciated as well. Please share this with anyone who you think could help!