Silus Shawn Rider

My name is Silus Shawn Rider. When my mommy found out she was pregnant with me, she was so excited! After 3 healthy little girls, she finally had a chance for a boy...that dream became bittersweet. The same day my mom got her ultrasound to see if I was a boy...that happiness and joy were short lived! The doctor said I had no left side to my heart! This condition is known as Hypo Plasty Left Heart Disease. Pretty much 6 weeks into my mom's pregnancy the left side of my heart stopped growing! The miracle was that while inside my mommy I would be completely fine...but at birth would be a different story. The Dr said my mom had 3 options...Do nothing and a few hrs after birth I would slowly suffocate to death...Option 2...A late term (20) week abortion...Or, I could have a series of 3 surgerys to help the problem and hopefully give me a chance at life! Of course option 3 was the obvious choice! I finally made my appearance into the world on December 17, 2009. I came out a whopping 8 lbs 22 inches long!! Unheard of for a "Heart Baby"! My mommy gave me that first kiss and then the drs took me away where they had a group of professionals waiting just for me! 5 days later I had my first open heart surgery. I recovered well and went home to be with my family a few weeks later. I got to stay home with my family for 4 months until I had to go back to the hospital for my 2nd open heart surgery. That surgery also went routinely. My mom was very proud and happy that I had successfully completed 2 heart surgeries. As the next 2 years went by, I stayed in pretty good health. Then at around 3 years old, I had what was thought to be my 3rd and final surgery! Unfortunately, that surgery wasn't a success, and my heart beat wouldn't return to a normal rhythm. The drs decided to regulate my heart beat by giving me a pacemaker. The pacemaker started out as a way of making my heart beat when it didn't want too...but because my heart has grown weaker...it is now ran solely by my pacemaker! All was going well...until last summer when I went into massive heart failure and had to be hospitalized for 2 months! Geese does it ever end?!? The past year has been great for me since leaving the hospital after my heart failure. Then 2 weeks ago...my mom tucked me into bed like she does every night...when I woke up the next morning my mommy knew something was wrong! I could barely talk, couldn't walk, and my right leg and arm were paralyzed! It was back to the hospital we would be going! It was quickly determined that I had had a massive stroke due to a blood clot in my brain!! This is going to be one of our longest hospital stays so far. We were at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital in the beginning to become stable...then a week and a half ago I was transferred to The Oakland Children's Hospital to learn how to walk and talk again. These trips take a lot out on my whole family...most of all my mommy! To begin with most of my medications are not covered by my insurance and my mom pays over 400 a month on them to keep me healthy ...and alive!! This will be one of my longer hospital stays ...unfortunately! So in the end the goal is too raise the money for my mom to be able to stay in Oakland with me. Then when I am finally released I will have to do out of town therapy and rehab because the town we live in has no out patient therapy. I will need a vehicle that can modified to be handicap accessible and make it in the snow to my appointments and all of my other medical expenses. Any and All donations are appreciated by me and my family!! :)