Baby Emmett’s Heart Journey

My sister Mykayla and her husband Noah are preparing to welcome their second baby boy, due on February 14, 2026. While our family is filled with love and anticipation, their sweet baby, Emmett, has been diagnosed with multiple serious congenital heart defects.

Emmett’s current diagnoses include a hypoplastic aortic arch with severe coarctation, an abnormal aortic valve, an abnormal/hypoplastic mitral valve, a ventricular septal defect (VSD), and a ventricular size discrepancy—meaning the left side of his heart is too small to function properly.

Once he’s born, Emmett will need a multistage series of open-heart surgeries to give his heart the best chance to function. His first surgery will take place within days of birth, followed by a second open-heart surgery between 6 and 12 months old. There’s also the possibility of additional interventions after that, but this is what’s known for now.

Boston Children’s Hospital has requested that Mykayla and Noah temporarily relocate to Boston around 36–37 weeks of pregnancy so Emmett can be delivered with their specialized cardiac team. They’ll remain there until Emmett is stable enough to leave the cardiac ICU—likely a month or longer.

As you can imagine, this journey comes with immense emotional and financial challenges. They’ll be managing relocation costs, medical-related travel expenses, time away from work, and the need to keep life stable for their 3-year-old son, Easton, while caring for a medically complex newborn.

Any contribution, no matter how small, will directly help them stay together as a family through this critical time—covering travel, temporary housing, meals, and essential needs for both boys.

Our family is deeply grateful for any support, prayers, and encouragement as we rally around Emmett and his incredible parents on this heart journey.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for helping keep their family strong.

Other ways to donate would be through Venmo, @mykayla-schartner or reach out via facebook messenger (Alyssa McAllian) or text for my address to send a check. [phone redacted]

— Alyssa (on behalf of Mykayla, Noah, Easton, and Baby Emmett)