Hi everyone,

We are reaching out with hopeful hearts as we prepare to welcome our little one into the world in a couple of months. As some of you know, during my pregnancy, our baby was diagnosed with a very rare congenital heart defect called truncus arteriosus. This means that shortly after birth, our baby will need open-heart surgery, specialized care, and weeks in the NICU at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis.

While we are so grateful to have excellent doctors guiding us, this journey comes with emotional, physical, and financial challenges. We live in Cape Girardeau, which means traveling back and forth to St. Louis for appointments, delivery, and surgery recovery. We will also face weeks away from home, unexpected lodging and meal expenses, and lots of missed work while we focus fully on our baby’s care.

We are trying to take some of the financial burden off while navigating the deep emotional and physical ones.

The funds will go towards:

• Travel: Many trips to and from St. Louis

• Lodging: Weeks of stays near the hospital during surgery and recovery

• Meals & Groceries: While living away from home

• Baby’s Needs: Supplies and medications

• Household Bills: Helping us stay afloat during time off work

Any amount, no matter how small, makes a difference. Even if you can’t give financially, sharing our story and keeping our family in your prayers means the world to us.

We will post updates along the way so you can walk this journey with us and celebrate our baby’s strength and milestones.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for standing with us.

With love and gratitude,

The McQueens