Help Save this Marine from a Failing Heart !

Hello friends !

My name is Carla Ball, a Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant based in the Phoenix, Arizona area.  I’m asking for help for my son-in-law Larry, my daughter Jill and their beautiful family.

 For those who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Larry and the family, let me tell you a little more about them.  Larry is a 34 year old military veteran from Apple Valley California who joined the United States Marine Corp in 2005 with a strong desire to serve his country.  Larry fell in love with my daughter Jill, who is 37 years old, and they were married shortly thereafter in 2006. Jill has two children from a previous marriage, Alexis age 16 and Amya age 13.  In 2007, Lukas joined the family, he was born while Larry was deployed in Iraq as a combat-forward Marine 0311.


Bailey Anne blessed our family with her arrival in 2009.  As some of you may know, Bailey is autistic and requires significant care and attention.  Jill has thus become a full time mom dedicating most of her days to caring for and raising Bailey - although she has more recently also had to care for Larry.

During his service to our country, Larry was deployed to combat heavy areas in the middle east FOUR different times.  Although he was fortunate enough never to be injured in combat, he lost several friends on these “front line” deployments. 

In September 2015, Larry began having bouts of shortness of breath while working his current job with Nestle.  Being a combat Marine veteran, Larry thought the breathing problems meant he needed to work harder and increase his endurance.  Despite trying to push through, his shortness of breath progressively got worse and led to an Emergency Room visit in January 2016 and a difficult diagnosis - heart failure related to nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy.  This is basically a condition where the main part of the heart, the left ventricle, is enlarged, dilated and weak and is no longer able to pump blood efficiently.

 Since January, Larry has had several hospital admissions as his condition has worsened.  Most recently, Larry had an actual heart attack and several blood clots in his lungs.  Although Larry’s condition declines every day, there is some positive news.  We are thankful to report that Larry received acceptance in February for transplant services with the Mayo Hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona - officially placing him on a heart transplant list (status 1B).

Larry is currently receiving continuous intravenous medications thru a catheter to his heart, whereby he has to wear a monitoring vest (which also has the ability to shock his heart if necessary).  Every week Larry has to travel from Chandler to the Mayo Hospital in Scottsdale for checkups with heart transplant services.  As you can imagine, Larry is currently unable to work or provide for his family because of the physical demands of his job.

The inability for this military veteran  to provide for his family, combined with his limited mobility, is also taking its toll on Larry’s mood.  Not being able to actively play with the kids or help around the house is frustrating to say the least.

Although members of the extended family are helping in many, many ways, we can’t keep up.  I am asking for any help that you can provide with medical bills, groceries, gas, and all the other needs associated with this challenge that my daughter’s family has been dealt. Although we have a long road ahead of us, we are determined and committed to getting Larry and Jill through this tough time.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to their story, and thank you for considering donating to this strong family man and veteran that knows he can get back on his feet. If you can’t give money, please pray for Larry and a speedy transplant and full recovery !