Baby Kora's Fetal Heart Surgery
Donation protected
Kora Amada: Corazon is Spanish for "heart", Amada is Spanish for "loved
After being married on June 25, 2016, Alysha who is an Spanish teacher in the Twin Cities and her husband Ben , were elated to find out that they would be expecting their first child in November of this year.
Half way through pregnancy at a regular scheduled ultrasound, their precious baby was diagnosed with an extremely rare fast-growing heart tumor (pericardial teratoma). Immediately the couple sought out the best medical advice from doctors around the country including: Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco and Minneapolis. Ben & Alysha were presented with two options for surgery , but with the tumor having grown double its size in the last 2 weeks they needed to act fast.
Alysha and her baby, who has now been named Kora Amada, will be undergoing fetal surgery (where they will operate on Kora and put her back into Alysha's belly to keep her growing strong).
This tumor has only been seen about 8 times in the US in the past 15 years. Kora's heart , as well as, everything else is currently very healthy, however this surgery will be a lot on her little 26 week old body.
Her family & friends will be updating this page with medical updates and other information.
We ask that you consider donating to this GoFundMe page to help with the quickly escalating medical expenses, loss of wages and other needs associated with their surgery. Their deductible alone is $10,000 for Alysha and once the baby is born their will be new costs with Kora.
The couple asks: If you are a believer in prayer or good vibes we need every positive thing you can send their way, for the amazing team at Children's in Minneapolis to be guided during the surgery and that both mommy and baby Kora stay strong and healthy through the surgery.
Surgery is scheduled for 7:30 am on Monday, July 31.
Both mom and baby will be surrounded in the operating room with over a dozen doctors and local medical experts in their field.
After being married on June 25, 2016, Alysha who is an Spanish teacher in the Twin Cities and her husband Ben , were elated to find out that they would be expecting their first child in November of this year.
Half way through pregnancy at a regular scheduled ultrasound, their precious baby was diagnosed with an extremely rare fast-growing heart tumor (pericardial teratoma). Immediately the couple sought out the best medical advice from doctors around the country including: Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco and Minneapolis. Ben & Alysha were presented with two options for surgery , but with the tumor having grown double its size in the last 2 weeks they needed to act fast.
Alysha and her baby, who has now been named Kora Amada, will be undergoing fetal surgery (where they will operate on Kora and put her back into Alysha's belly to keep her growing strong).
This tumor has only been seen about 8 times in the US in the past 15 years. Kora's heart , as well as, everything else is currently very healthy, however this surgery will be a lot on her little 26 week old body.
Her family & friends will be updating this page with medical updates and other information.
We ask that you consider donating to this GoFundMe page to help with the quickly escalating medical expenses, loss of wages and other needs associated with their surgery. Their deductible alone is $10,000 for Alysha and once the baby is born their will be new costs with Kora.
The couple asks: If you are a believer in prayer or good vibes we need every positive thing you can send their way, for the amazing team at Children's in Minneapolis to be guided during the surgery and that both mommy and baby Kora stay strong and healthy through the surgery.
Surgery is scheduled for 7:30 am on Monday, July 31.
Both mom and baby will be surrounded in the operating room with over a dozen doctors and local medical experts in their field.
Organizer and beneficiary
Michelle Taormina
Organizer
St. Paul, MN
Alysha Balbo
Beneficiary
