Grady’s Heart Warrior Journey

Hello there, I am new to the world of GoFundMe, but my son Grady is a heart patient. He has hypoplastic right heart syndrome, more specifically tricuspid atresia of the right ventricle, along with a VSD (hole in his heart). Tricuspid Atresia means his tricuspid valve that was supposed to form in utero never fully developed, and this rendered the right side of his heart severely undersized and not functioning properly. The right side of the heart is responsible for pumping oxygenated blood through to the lungs. Most people’s oxygen levels sit consistently at 99-100%. Maybe a few points lower when they are really sick. Grady’s natural oxygen levels sat in the 80% range at birth, and gradually dropped as the weeks progressed in his short life.

At six weeks old, he dipped consistently into the 70’s and his cardiologist scheduled Grady for surgery to have a shunt placed the following week. He was not yet old enough or big enough for the Glenn Surgery which relocates some of the oxygenated blood and redirects it back to the lungs, so the heart doesn’t have to work as hard to keep Grady healthy and active. Before the surgery he started to get lethargic and would fall asleep while eating a bottle, it was just too tiring for his little heart to work to keep him going. Thank goodness they got him in for surgery.

It has been two months since that surgery and now he is big enough for the Glenn. He has a heart catheterization scheduled for October 18th, which is one overnight trip to the hospital in Birmingham, then we go back on November 8th for his big Glenn surgery. This will be his second open heart surgery in 6 months of life. The emotional turmoil is gut wrenching, and the financial uncertainty is taking its toll on me and my husband, Eric. Last time Grady had surgery the Ronald McDonald House did not have room for us, and we spent over $1500 in hotels and food just in the five days we were there. This is not to mention the thousands in medical bills we will receive once this surgery is complete. I am out of vacation time and will need to try to either work while in the hospital or take off time without pay at this point. This surgery will have a 7-10 day recovery time, and since everyone has been asking how they can help, this is how. Please, if you are able, donate so we can worry about one less thing while we make sure our sweet boy has surgery and his heart is hopefully made a little more whole.

We have had so many wonderful friends reach out and offer their help. Thank you all so much for your ongoing support of our Grady Lane, Gravy Train!