As many of you know, Tommy was diagnosed with Ebstein's Anomaly, a highly rare congenital heart defect, when Jill was 20 weeks pregnant. Basically, EA occurs when one of the valves in his heart (the tricuspid valve) grew in the wrong place, and juts into one of the chambers of his heart; this means that his heart cannot pump oxygen-rich blood through his body.

For the past ten years, we have monitored him closely. His recent check-up confirmed our concerns: Tommy tested very low for exercise tolerance, which means he is now a good candidate for open-heart surgery to repair the valve. This is the hardest valve to operate on, and only two centers in the entire country have done a decent number of the procedure he needs. After interviewing both locations, we decided that we will go to Mayo clinic in Rochester, MN next July.

We have been told to anticipate a two-week-long stay (at a minimum). To cut down on costs/germ exposure, at least one of us will drive while the other flies. We are exploring every angle to trim costs between now and then, and we are incredibly lucky to have good insurance. But, as many of you know, the expenses can add up for an unexpected, long trip like this. We are also aware that, even with insurance, we will likely reach our family's out-of-pocket maximum awfully quickly.

Over the years, folks have asked us how they can help with Tommy. We are so, so grateful for our communities of support-- so many of you remember the early, scary days after he was diagnosed, and have been incredibly gracious with prayers and kind words both then and in the years that followed. Thank you! Please feel no obligation to contribute to this, but if you feel led to help further, the expenses raised here would go to Jill's and Kevin's expenses related to the Minnesota trip and to any medical bills that Tommy's procedure incurs. We will gladly refund anything we receive that we do not need for these expenses.

Whether financial, emotional, or spiritual: Thank you so much for your support of Tommy and of us in this season!