My name is Sam, and my wife Gina and I are the parents of Ezekiel, our precious 3-month-old son. Ezekiel was born on October 14, 2025, and has been in the NICU/PTCU ever since, bravely fighting through serious heart issues(DORV, VSD, CoA). He is a true warrior. After enduring a TEF repair, esophageal cleft repair, and a hybrid heart procedure, he faced the unthinkable, suffering a 10-minute cardiac arrest followed by another urgent heart surgery less than 24 hours later. While recovering from that second open-heart surgery, he faced another 5-minute cardiac arrest. Despite overcoming these incredible hurdles, he is now facing yet another major heart surgery. His strength is unmatched. Every day, we travel an hour and a half—sometimes more—each way to Mott's Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor to be by his side. Some days, we make this 100-mile round trip up to three times, all while caring for our three other children, ages 9, 7, and 15, who are in school.

This journey has been incredibly hard on our family. My wife has been on maternity leave, and I have had to miss work to support her and our children. The cost of gas for these daily trips adds up quickly, and keeping up with bills has become a real struggle. The stress of traveling back and forth on the freeway, often in difficult conditions, has taken a toll on us both emotionally and financially. We are doing everything we can to stay strong for Ezekiel and our family, but we need help.

We are reaching out to our community for support during this difficult time. Any help you can provide will go directly toward gas for hospital trips and essential bills, helping us focus on Ezekiel's recovery and keeping our family together. Thank you for your kindness, prayers, and support—it truly means the world to us.

Update: Ezekiel conquered his 3rd major heart repair currently on EMCO life support and is on a road to recovery and healing. Wife has returned to work but is unable to work at full capacity.