Jackson Baez's Open Heart Surgery

Jackson Baez was born on July 25, 2017 to Krysten and Peter Baez, a young couple in Spartanburg, SC. While in the hospital, a heart murmur was detected by one of the nurses and the family was referred to a local pediatric cardiologist for a follow up appointment. At four days old, Jackson had an ultrasound which revealed he was born with a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF). (Ultrasound at 2 month check up)

(EKG at 4 month follow up)

ToF is a rare condition that features 4 different complications within the heart:

   1. A hole between the lower chambers of the heart (ventricular septal defect - VSD);
   2. An obstruction from the heart to the lungs;
   3. The aorta (blood vessel) lies over the hole in the lower chambers;
   4. The muscle surrounding the lower right chamber becomes overly thickened.

This defect is not something that can go unrepaired, and requires open heart surgery to improve blood flow to the lungs and ensure that oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood flow to the right places.

At 5.5 months old, Jackson will undergo open heart surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).  The family will travel to Charleston on January 17th for pre-operation precedures before surgery on the 19th. The surgery itself is expected to take approximately 10 hours, and the anticipated hospital stay is a minimum of two weeks. 

In an effort to alleviate the costs associated with the surgery and stay in Charleston, we put together this GoFundMe Page. Every dollar donated will help Pete and Krysten stay on their feet while their son is in the hospital and recovering, and while Krysten is out of work taking care of Jackson. Your donations will help with hospital bills, lodging for the family while they are in Charleston, meals, travel, etc. 

Any money donated that is not needed to cover hospital bills will be  saved for any future operations (which will become evident after this first surgery) or donated to the American Heart Association if no additional surgeries are expected ️. 

Krysten and Pete wish to express that while they have excellent medical insurance for their family, January begins a new year for out of pocket deductibles to meet before insurance kicks in. No family anticipates expenses like this, and insurance can only go so far.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!