Help Aaron Get His Heart Pumping Again!
Aaron was born with a congenital heart condition which came with four major defects. He had two open heart surgeries before the age of 5 and was told he wouldn't live past 7 or 8 years old and that he would need a heart and lung transplant to survive. He managed to make it way past 7 or 8 and is now 35! Unfortunately his heart has been weakening over time and issues from his heart defects as well as aftermath from the surgeries are now exacerbated. He currently has an extremely severe leak in his pulmonary valve as well as blood flow obstruction due to narrowing in certain passages in his heart. His heart is currently functioning between 40% and 45% and is very enlarged.
Our current plan is to have a pulmonary valve replacement ASAP. A transplant is still a possibility for in the future, but right now getting the valve fixed is most important. Aaron has a cardiac MRI scheduled in March which will determine whether it will have to be another open heart surgery or if we can go with a less invasive surgery. The MRI will also give his medical team a better picture of what is going on with his heart and let them know anything else that may need done currently. Before getting fully approved for surgery there are some smaller procedures that need to be done prior. We had a small amount done today and got the total for the out of pocket that we have to pay for the prep procedures, which is over $6,000. That has to be paid before the surgery can happen. There is an option for a medical credit card to cover the prep procedures, but the payments are very high. We will still end up using that as an option if we can get approved, but even then we will have a hard time managing it. On top of that we are still working through mounds of medical bills from all of the tests, appointments, and the ER visit he had. We will also have the upcoming MRI and surgery.
Financially we are in a tight spot. Aaron is still working full time and working extra to make up for time missed for appointments. I am disabled and stopped working in January of 2020. We are working towards getting me on disability, but unfortunately it's a very long process and COVID-19 has made it even worse. With one income trying to navigate all these medical bills is overwhelming. We left the office in tears this morning because we are just at a loss on how we are going to be able to afford everything and manage our rent, car payment, internet, (which is needed for Aaron's work) etc. Unfortunately none of these procedures are optional and the longer we wait, the worse his condition can get. We absolutely hate asking for help and had the hardest time deciding whether or not to do this, but we have no other options. The surgery is life or death for him. So if you have the ability to give anything, it will be so appreciated. If you don't, thanks for reading our story and please keep us in your thoughts. If you know of any resources we could use for help whether it be for medical, rent assistance, food assistance, etc. please pass those along as well. Thank you so so much for reading, sharing, and helping. We appreciate it more than you know. Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts!