Ellie's Heart Transplant Journey

Ellie is a ten-year-old beautiful, intelligent, loving, and outgoing little girl who needs a new heart. Ellie and her mom, stepdad, and baby brother are about to embark on a challenging and accelerated chapter of their lives, navigating the transplant process and just trying to stay afloat while accruing potentially catastrophic expenses.

In the past week, Ellie's family has received unexpected news that they are required to travel almost 700 miles from home for Ellie to receive extensive testing and evaluation for placement on the heart transplant waiting list at Standford Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. The length of their stay will most likely be a long one, full of unknowns, worry, and angst. The sudden life-altering news has presented them with a hardship beyond belief. Ellie and family are leaving a beautiful life full of friends, family and a support system in Portland for a stay far from all of that, without a return date. Financial challenges include temporary to semi-permanent relocation costs, travel expenses, out-of-pocket medical expenses, supplementary income, basic living expenses, and attempting to sustain an everyday life with undetermined future employment. Nevertheless, they hope to someday return home to the life they built once Ellie is healthy, healed, and ready to do all the great things she was destined to do.

The amount of stress this beautiful family is having to endure all at once is heartbreaking and something nobody should ever have to go through. Ellie's recovery will undoubtedly be difficult for her and her family, but we can come together as a community to help ease the stress that financial burdens can cause so that all their energy can be directed to the most important thing - Ellie's health and wellbeing. If any family deserves it, it is them! Anything is so appreciated, and thank you for taking the time to read their story.