- M
My name is Chess Necessary, and I’m writing this from the bedside of my son Ronnie in a hospital room at UCLA. Since December 2021, I’ve been here by his side as he awaits a heart transplant. I hope, after reading our story, that you might find it in your own heart to help my child save his.
Ronnie was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition that, although we were able to manage for a long time, we understood would likely one day require a transplant. In 2020, Ronnie’s condition took a turn for the worst, and it was all we could do to take his health one day at a time. I can’t begin to describe the pain of watching your son’s belly fill with fluid, and his muscles weaken under the strain of just trying to keep his heart pumping. The only thing that makes it bearable is seeing how strong Ronnie has been throughout this whole experience. If he can stay strong through so many challenges, it’s the least I can do to do the same.
To take care of Ronnie, I had to take an unpaid leave from my job, put my career on hold, and devote myself to his care full-time. My wife has been working as much as she can, even as she cares for our two other children and helps me with Ronnie. And I consider us blessed and fortunate to have her support, and the support of so many friends and family.
I’m not someone who likes to ask for financial support. Fortunately our financial burden does not fall on our child's medical cost. Thanks to public programs, Ronnie has always had his medical bills covered, along with his many prescriptions. However, although we have applied for any public assistance we can find, and have stretched our savings to the best to our ability, our funds are running low. It is extremely expensive to maintain our bills and afford the extra gas it takes to travel back and forth to the Ronald McDonald House, to say nothing of parking, hospital food and other added costs.
This last December we officially got Ronnie on the transplant list and, with an amazing amount of help from UCLA, Ronnie is at the very top of the list. We have been in the hospital full-time now for going on four months and are very hopeful that his new heart will come any day now.
In the meantime, any support you can provide would mean the world to us. We hope to one day put this chapter behind us, so Ronnie can move on with his life, and we can celebrate all the milestones to come. And, hopefully, we will one day be in a position to pay forward the kindness shown to us. I have no idea how much longer we will be here, and the road to recovery is long after surgery, but once we overcome these hurdles, I look forward to us all being back on our feet.
All money raised will go to our cost of living, and we can't express enough how grateful we are for any help. Thank you and God bless you.
Ronnie was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition that, although we were able to manage for a long time, we understood would likely one day require a transplant. In 2020, Ronnie’s condition took a turn for the worst, and it was all we could do to take his health one day at a time. I can’t begin to describe the pain of watching your son’s belly fill with fluid, and his muscles weaken under the strain of just trying to keep his heart pumping. The only thing that makes it bearable is seeing how strong Ronnie has been throughout this whole experience. If he can stay strong through so many challenges, it’s the least I can do to do the same.
To take care of Ronnie, I had to take an unpaid leave from my job, put my career on hold, and devote myself to his care full-time. My wife has been working as much as she can, even as she cares for our two other children and helps me with Ronnie. And I consider us blessed and fortunate to have her support, and the support of so many friends and family.
I’m not someone who likes to ask for financial support. Fortunately our financial burden does not fall on our child's medical cost. Thanks to public programs, Ronnie has always had his medical bills covered, along with his many prescriptions. However, although we have applied for any public assistance we can find, and have stretched our savings to the best to our ability, our funds are running low. It is extremely expensive to maintain our bills and afford the extra gas it takes to travel back and forth to the Ronald McDonald House, to say nothing of parking, hospital food and other added costs.
This last December we officially got Ronnie on the transplant list and, with an amazing amount of help from UCLA, Ronnie is at the very top of the list. We have been in the hospital full-time now for going on four months and are very hopeful that his new heart will come any day now.
In the meantime, any support you can provide would mean the world to us. We hope to one day put this chapter behind us, so Ronnie can move on with his life, and we can celebrate all the milestones to come. And, hopefully, we will one day be in a position to pay forward the kindness shown to us. I have no idea how much longer we will be here, and the road to recovery is long after surgery, but once we overcome these hurdles, I look forward to us all being back on our feet.
All money raised will go to our cost of living, and we can't express enough how grateful we are for any help. Thank you and God bless you.
Organizer and beneficiary
Katherine Necessary
Beneficiary