My name is Amber Queen, honorary Aunti Bam to a sweet boy named Christian Dean Griffin. This boy truly is our little miracle man. His parents, Bri (aka Ronni) and Austin Griffin, have been on a wild roller coaster. Against all odds, backed by faith, after 6 years of dating and 6 years of marriage, they were thrilled to learn they were expecting their first baby together after being told their likelihood of conceiving was virtually zero. Their joy was very short-lived. Early in their pregnancy, they learned their baby had a multitude of challenges. After what seemed like a million doctor's appointments, scans, and specialists, they were given the devastating news that their baby had a 3% chance to make it to delivery, with a major heart defect, and would likely pass before delivery. Amazingly, their response to every devastating blow was, "There's still a chance, God's got this."

In June 2024, we threw Bri and Austin the sweetest gender reveal, and the first prayer had been answered. We learned it was a boy! We celebrated with them, but this made things all too real. We lovingly prepared for his arrival, not knowing what that journey looked like or when that would be. Not long after, Bri was hospitalized on strict bed rest. Austin was always by her side, being a constant source of support, laughter, cravings supplier, and love. Their faith is inspiring; their response was always, "We know it will all be okay, God's got this."

After 4 weeks of hospitalized bed rest, Bri was rushed into a crash C-section. Christian Dean surprised us all, 2 months before his expected delivery date. Born 8 weeks early, he was so strong, with bright eyes and blonde hair. The specialists poured in, and the gravity of Christian's challenges were mounting exponentially. Christian was truly one in a million; (technically more rare than that) he was born with a heart defect and a defect that surprised everyone. He was born without a sternum. His heart beats millimeters under his skin. I joke that he has too much love to give; his little body just couldn't contain it. Any other documented cases like his have not made it past a couple of weeks/months, and his team is looking to other states and countries for guidance on next step surgeries and outcomes.

During his stay in the NICU and CVICU, he underwent his first heart surgery and did okay. After 5 grueling months in the hospital, Christian got to come home, where he's growing and thriving under his parents' TLC. This is where we need your help. Christian has a major heart surgery coming, he's extremely special needs and needs his mommy's full attention. They went from a dual-income household to a single-income household wildly before they were ready. In the past, this wouldn't have been an issue, but the ramifications from the pandemic finally hit Bri's family company two weeks before Christian was born, and Austin’s company was a one-man operation (Austin), leaving them with a huge deficit. I know they would never ask because needing help is new to them. They're the ones that show up for everyone. They're the ones that would give you the shirts off their backs, cry with you through life's challenges, and cheer the loudest in life's victories. With mounting medical debt accruing daily, please donate what you can. Even a dollar is appreciated. So I'll leave you with the quote that has carried us this far: "God's got this." Thank you for prayers, The Griffins need it, Christian needs it.

Much Love, Aunti Bam