Eden Krallman : A Warrior ❤️

Brooke Eckert is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Chloe Slusher.

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Hi, my name is Brooke and I have started this Go Fund Me Campaign for some friends of mine who could use some extra love and support as their youngest child is about to undergo her first open heart surgery.

Eden was born seemingly healthy on June 12, 2023 to her loving parents Chloe and Aric. Eden had already been pre-diagnosed with Down Syndrome prior to being born, which automatically put her at an increased risk of health complications and increased the likely hood of a longer hospital stay after birth. Fortunately she didn't have to spend any time in the NICU and they got to go home as a family right away!

The next few months went great as they learned to adjust to caring for a newborn again and going from a family of 3 to a family of 4. That was until Eden was 4 months old.

On Halloween Eden had begun acting very abnormal. Her parents took her to the ER to get checked out, hoping like every other parent, that it was just something minor. Unfortunately Eden was diagnosed with Pneumonia at the local ER, and after a few more tests the staff had decided to transfer her to a bigger hospital in Fort Wayne, IN.

It was there that she was seen by a cardiologist and after several more tests and scans they got the troubling news of her heart condition.

They were told she had a VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect), which is essentially a birth defect that has caused a hole in the wall that separates the lower two chambers of the heart.

This specific type of defect is found to be present in 1/240 babies in the US, and is the most common heart defect in babies with Down Syndrome.

90% of VSDs will close on their own by the time the child is 6 years old.

However due to the size of Eden's, the doctors were doubtful that it would close within a timely manner and without creating more issues.

As with most every surgery there are weight and age recommendations, and at that time Eden didn't meet them.

They just had to continue to watch her and wait for the right time to intervene.

By the time she was finally at the appropriate age and weight the scheduling process had to be put on hold again.

It was at this time they found out Eden was having some thyroid issues. Her levels were high and she had to be evaluated and put on medication to help lower them, before they could reconsider scheduling the heart surgery.

Eden is now 9 months old and with her thyroid levels being normal she is ready for surgery!

The surgery has been scheduled for March 20, 2024 at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, IN and if everything goes well the hospital stay is expected to be 1-2 weeks long.

During this time both Aric and Chloe will be off work in order to stay with Eden during her recovery, and to take care of their oldest daughter Violet and other things back home.

They are currently on the waitlist for the Ronald McDonald housing program, which allows parents and families to stay close to the hospital for free while their children and loved ones are receiving medical care. Unfortunately there is no telling how long they will be on the waitlist for, or if they will make it off of it as the demand for the program it is so high and the waitlists are so long.

I encourage you to consider helping eliminate some of the financial stress this family is about to endure, and show your support for them as they are about to go through this difficult time.