Caden and Nicki are facing an incredibly tough time with their daughter Eliana, who needs urgent heart surgery. Every little bit helps them manage the medical bills and travel costs during this challenging period. Please read below to find out more, and consider donating or sharing their story. Thank you for your kindness!

Caden and Nicki’s story: “Our baby girl, Eliana, was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. During her chest X-ray, the doctors also noticed her heart looked enlarged. Further testing revealed something we never expected: she was born with a congenital heart defect called a complete atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD). She has a large hole in the center of her heart and valve abnormalities that have been making her heart and lungs work much harder than they should.

In that moment, everything we didn’t understand at home suddenly made sense—her fast breathing, her struggle to eat, how exhausted she became during feeds, and her difficulty gaining weight. Her tiny body has been overworking since the day she was born, and we had no idea.

While in the hospital, Eliana needed oxygen support, heart medication, and eventually a nasogastric (NG) tube because she no longer had the strength to finish her bottles. Watching her fight just to breathe and eat has been heartbreaking. As parents, there is nothing worse than seeing your baby struggle to do things that should be effortless.

Now that she has recovered from pneumonia, her cardiology team has confirmed that she needs open-heart surgery. Her surgery is scheduled at Stanford Children’s Hospital on January 30th, where surgeons will repair the holes in her heart and reconstruct her valves. We are terrified, but we are so grateful that there is a surgery that can help her finally breathe and grow without her heart working against her.

This has completely turned our world upside down. We have been juggling hospital stays, NG tube care, heart medications, medical appointments, and preparing to travel for surgery and recovery, all while caring for our toddler at home and missing work. The financial strain from travel, lodging, childcare, food, gas, and time away from work is more than we can manage alone.

We are creating this GoFundMe to help ease the burden during this difficult season so we can focus on Eliana’s healing. Any support—whether through donations, sharing this page, or keeping her in your prayers—means more than we can express. Thank you for loving and supporting our little girl through the hardest time of her life.”