A heart for Ylena, a Dutch princess

Ylena, a sweet and incredibly brave 10 month old little girl, was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), a rare and life-threatening congenital heart defect.

She has spent most of her short life in NICU in Leiden, The Netherlands and has already undergone numerous surgeries. Unfortunately, despite all the best effort of medical personnel, there is nothing more the doctors in The Netherlands can do for her and Ylena's only chance to live is to undergo a heart transplantation in a hospital in Berlin, Germany.

Next week Ylena and her parents, Àlex and Els, are leaving for Berlin to begin a new -temporary- life in that country, far away from their family and friends in The Netherlands for at least a year. Medical expenses will be covered by the family's insurance but other living expenses won't be. I'm hoping to be able to raise enough money to help them with living expenses and that's where you come in... if you choose to; I ask for your help. As much or as little as you can give. Every cent counts.

If you're willing to donate but rather don't use Paypal or your creditcard, please send me a message by hitting the 'contact'-button below and we'll make it work.

Thank you for taking the time to read my message and considering a donation. If you are unable to donate, you can still help by sharing this site with anyone and everyone your know. E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, word of mouth... anything you can do to spread the word and get people to donate is greatly appreciated!

~ Maayke

P.S. Ylena's parents are keeping a daily diary (in Dutch) about how things are going with their little princess.