Hello family and fb friends. My name is Faith Boyd and I’m here because I need your financial assistance to help my son Darrel Cummings. Darrel was born January 29, 2003. Growing up, he was a happy, healthy and bright kid. In middle school, Darrel developed a love for basketball. He dedicated hours of practice and training to strengthen his skills and technique. One day during practice, Darrel had complications with breathing and passed out. Like any parent, when I received the emergency call from the school that my son passed out on the court and was being taken to the hospital, I screamed and rushed to the hospital in a panic with tears and fear. Darrel was checked out by the nurses and all was fine at the time. After being cleared by the nurse on call, I took him home to rest. Not thinking much of it because the nurses are professionals and they didn’t find anything wrong with him. Later that night Darrel was complaining that his chest hurts but I brush it off thinking he pulled a muscle and because of the clearance from the nurse! The next morning, Darrel was still complaining about his chest pain and I (Faith Boyd) got an emergency appointment to pediatrician! They ran more tests and when they shared the results my whole world changed. We found out that Darrel’s heart was in trouble at the age of 14 years old and he could have suffered a mild heart attack! So after seeing the pediatrician we were immediately referred to a pediatric cardiologist, and more tests were run. When those results came back he was diagnosed with dilating cardiomyopathy.Here is a brief summary of his condition. Dilated cardiomyopathy is a type of heart muscle disease that causes the heart chambers (ventricles) to thin and stretch, growing larger. It typically starts in the heart's main pumping chamber (left ventricle). Dilated cardiomyopathy makes it harder for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body. After all was said his doctors said that he would never be a normal kid. This was so hard to tell my son who worked so hard to be an amazing athlete. Darrel was given medication after medication and it was working for the most part so we did our best to adjust to this new normal. Now, at age 19, Darrel’s condition has worsened! He was recently hospitalized for pneumonia, Covid, and vomiting blood. When his symptoms were no longer present and he was feeling better he received clearance to be released and a follow up appointment was scheduled. During the follow up visit more tests were ran and upon receiving the results Darrel was immediately admitted into ICU CARDIOLOGY. Now at this state it was reported that he has congestive heart failure and more tests were needed. Doctors came back in and discussed different opinions for his condition. By the next day we were informed that Darrel needed a heart transplant but for right now doctors would provide him with a pacemaker/defibrillator and surgery was scheduled for December 17, 2022. Doctors stated that Darrel would still have to be evaluated to make sure his other organs are functioning properly for a successful transplant. That was a difficult and painful week of waiting. The good news is that everything came back showing that Darrel is a great candidate for the heart transplant! We were then told that we had to wait to see what the medical committee says about his condition and how soon he would be put on the list. That meeting was held on December 19, 2022 and it was determined that Darrel would be placed on the list as of Dec 20, 2022! Sadly, Darrel’s condition meant that he had to completely change his lifestyle, stopping a lot of daily activities including work and school. Because of this change of lifestyle, Darrel is in a financial crisis! So any monetary donation is appreciated, as well as your love and support, most of all we appreciate each and every 1 of you much love ❤️