Support the Christman Family
Friends and Family of Heidi, Mike, Lydia & Claire,
Most of you may or may not be aware of what the Christman family is going through right now. Baby Claire was born on 9/4/15 with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS)… in layman’s terms, the left side of the baby’s heart is severely underdeveloped. Sometimes it is said that these babies have “half a heart." Less than a week after she was born she underwent her first open heart surgery. She is now recovering in the CICU at Boston's Children's Hospital. She will eventually have more heart surgeries throughout her life.
Less than 2 weeks after Claire's surgery the Christman's (almost) 2 year old daughter, Lydia was admitted to the hospital for an infection in her leg and also had to have surgery. Both of their precious girls became patients at the same hopsital.
Heidi and Mike live in Columbus, OH but are spending this time in Boston at the Children's Hospital. We are not sure how long they will be away from home, but they will be making many trips to and from the hopsital to spend every moment with their girls. This obviously means money on gas, meals on the go, and time away from work. This GoFundMe opportunity allows us, as family and friends, to do something useful and purposeful for the Christman's as they are on this journey.
Here is the latest update from Heidi (as of 9/25/15):
After a long week, things are looking up for the Christman crew!
Lydia Update:
Tuesday afternoon they were able to switch her to an oral dose of antibiotic, instead of the IV, so she was discharged. Thank God. She was really starting to come out of her skin in the hospital. We were allowed to take her out on walks and to the toy room on her floor, but it was still so confining for a toddler who just wants to go, go, go. The worst was her crib... or as we called it, her cage. Getting her to go to bed at night was dreadful. She is back to her normal, silly, playful self which is so relieving. She is slowly regaining confidence on her left leg, but still limping around a bit. It's sad and funny at the same time to see her little body limping along. We are just so glad that they caught the infection early and took care of things. The thought of surgery was a nightmare, but it was necessary to ensure that the infection was removed so that it didn't do any damage to the cartilage in her knee.
Claire update:
Great news for Claire... she graduated from the CICU and is now on the cardiac floor. This all happened this morning. At the beginning of the week, she was extubated and has done well. Today they removed her oxygen support from her nose, removed some more wires that went to her heart, and removed the sutures from the wound on her chest. She has also began taking bottles again, the first time since before surgery. She has done pretty well, but still has some remembering to do when it comes to putting in the effort into eating. She's gotten used to having the food go into the feeding tube in her nose and then right into her belly. We are just being patient and letting her slowly relearn. It is hard to believe that we have come this far in just a week. Last week this time was very discouraging, and now here we are. This is truly a moment by moment journey.
Whether or not you are able to donate, continued prayers for Claire, Lydia, Heidi and Mike are much appreciated.
Thank you.