Raising For Roman
Donation protected
Three months ago, on July 5th, 2018 Ryan and Liz were blessed with another beautiful baby boy, Roman Marconi Hunter. They enjoyed his first couple of hours on earth, making them a family of five. Mom and Dad had been talking to big brothers for weeks prior to his arrival about bringing baby brother home from the hospital once he arrived. They were so excited to meet their baby brother! A couple hours after Romans arrival, Liz and Roman headed to the recovery floor where they would likely stay for the next 24-48 hours before heading home.
Upon their arrival, nurse Kaytee was quick to notice that Roman was a bit “bluish” a.k.a. cyanotic, in skin color. To ease her concern, she informed Ryan and Liz that she wanted to check Romans oxygen levels. Normal oxygen levels are to be in the 90-100 range. Roman was born with his oxygen levels in the 50-60s. Nurse Kaytee’s initial concerned look was confirmed and baby Roman was quickly whisked off to the NICU for further testing and help to get his oxygen levels back to a normal range. Once admitted, the doctors and nurses came back to inform mom and dad that Roman was not suffering respiratory problems but rather had been born with what they believed was a congenital heart defect known as TGA; transposition of the great arteries.
Just four short hours after Roman was born, he was transported to Nationwide Children’s hospital in Columbus, OH where Ryan and Liz were told he may need emergency open heart surgery. The devastation hit hard as what they thought was a perfect pregnancy and new healthy addition, was taking a turn for the worst. Fortunately Liz had an unblocked labor and was able to leave the hospital to be with Dad and Roman at the same time.
They arrived to Children’s with a staff of around 25 surgeons, doctors, and nurses prepped and ready to take on whatever was coming their way. Cardiologist Dr. Lloyd confirmed the heart defect was in fact TGA and informed Ryan and Liz that Roman would have to have an Atrial Septostomy, which places a hole in between the upper two chambers of his heart to allow for oxygenated blood to flow through the heart to his body.
Roman conquered his first procedure like a warrior and over the next five days, mom and dad were preparing for Romans big day; open heart surgery to repair the arterial switch of the pulmonary artery and the aorta. Roman underwent open heart surgery on 7/11/18 at just six days old. His surgery was expected to last around six hours, but due to his size and the amount of blood loss during surgery, Roman had to have two blood transfusions as he continued to bleed out. In total his surgery lasted ten hours. Because of the bleeding, cardiac surgeon Dr. Galantowicz decided to keep his chest open until Roman was in the safe and some of his swelling had gone down. Roman had a patch over his chest for two days before he was officially closed up from surgery.
Because of the warrior that he is, Roman recovered so amazingly well and Mom, Dad, and Roman all left the hospital on day twelve. Life has never been the same since. With a restored faith, marriage, and general outlook on life, The Hunter Family has come out stronger than ever! But their trials do not end there.
Most of you know that Ryan and Liz own a gym in Columbus, OH. They are the only two employees so when they were away from their business, they weren’t bringing in an income. On top of being self-employed, Ryan and Liz do not have private health insurance as the expense is very high for self-employed business owners and they are in great health so they decided to opt out of health insurance and pay out of pocket for their medical expenses. Little did they know that an emergency like Romans would take place; one that they were not prepared for and could not planned for.
Ryan and Liz are in great need of help when it comes to covering the cost of Romans continued medical bills as they continue to work hard to keep their business up and running. This account was created for the sole purpose to help raise donations for Ryan and Liz to help cover the medical expenses for Roman. There is no amount too little that will help them in this situation; every little bit is helping The Hunter Family.
Friends and family, if you feel led to give and help this amazing family in need, please use this page to gift your donation. Ryan and Liz have not asked for anything more than your prayers over their family during this time, but as good friends and family do, we are here to step up and help them in the ways they will not ask for on their own.
Thank you for your consideration in helping The Hunter Family. Thank you for those that will be donating to help with Romans medical expenses. And thank you for your prayers of this amazing family. They are so grateful for you all!
Upon their arrival, nurse Kaytee was quick to notice that Roman was a bit “bluish” a.k.a. cyanotic, in skin color. To ease her concern, she informed Ryan and Liz that she wanted to check Romans oxygen levels. Normal oxygen levels are to be in the 90-100 range. Roman was born with his oxygen levels in the 50-60s. Nurse Kaytee’s initial concerned look was confirmed and baby Roman was quickly whisked off to the NICU for further testing and help to get his oxygen levels back to a normal range. Once admitted, the doctors and nurses came back to inform mom and dad that Roman was not suffering respiratory problems but rather had been born with what they believed was a congenital heart defect known as TGA; transposition of the great arteries.
Just four short hours after Roman was born, he was transported to Nationwide Children’s hospital in Columbus, OH where Ryan and Liz were told he may need emergency open heart surgery. The devastation hit hard as what they thought was a perfect pregnancy and new healthy addition, was taking a turn for the worst. Fortunately Liz had an unblocked labor and was able to leave the hospital to be with Dad and Roman at the same time.
They arrived to Children’s with a staff of around 25 surgeons, doctors, and nurses prepped and ready to take on whatever was coming their way. Cardiologist Dr. Lloyd confirmed the heart defect was in fact TGA and informed Ryan and Liz that Roman would have to have an Atrial Septostomy, which places a hole in between the upper two chambers of his heart to allow for oxygenated blood to flow through the heart to his body.
Roman conquered his first procedure like a warrior and over the next five days, mom and dad were preparing for Romans big day; open heart surgery to repair the arterial switch of the pulmonary artery and the aorta. Roman underwent open heart surgery on 7/11/18 at just six days old. His surgery was expected to last around six hours, but due to his size and the amount of blood loss during surgery, Roman had to have two blood transfusions as he continued to bleed out. In total his surgery lasted ten hours. Because of the bleeding, cardiac surgeon Dr. Galantowicz decided to keep his chest open until Roman was in the safe and some of his swelling had gone down. Roman had a patch over his chest for two days before he was officially closed up from surgery.
Because of the warrior that he is, Roman recovered so amazingly well and Mom, Dad, and Roman all left the hospital on day twelve. Life has never been the same since. With a restored faith, marriage, and general outlook on life, The Hunter Family has come out stronger than ever! But their trials do not end there.
Most of you know that Ryan and Liz own a gym in Columbus, OH. They are the only two employees so when they were away from their business, they weren’t bringing in an income. On top of being self-employed, Ryan and Liz do not have private health insurance as the expense is very high for self-employed business owners and they are in great health so they decided to opt out of health insurance and pay out of pocket for their medical expenses. Little did they know that an emergency like Romans would take place; one that they were not prepared for and could not planned for.
Ryan and Liz are in great need of help when it comes to covering the cost of Romans continued medical bills as they continue to work hard to keep their business up and running. This account was created for the sole purpose to help raise donations for Ryan and Liz to help cover the medical expenses for Roman. There is no amount too little that will help them in this situation; every little bit is helping The Hunter Family.
Friends and family, if you feel led to give and help this amazing family in need, please use this page to gift your donation. Ryan and Liz have not asked for anything more than your prayers over their family during this time, but as good friends and family do, we are here to step up and help them in the ways they will not ask for on their own.
Thank you for your consideration in helping The Hunter Family. Thank you for those that will be donating to help with Romans medical expenses. And thank you for your prayers of this amazing family. They are so grateful for you all!
Organizer
Alexa Kennedy-Miller
Organizer
Lima, OH
