Hypoplastic Left Side Heart Syndrome

My name is Shayla and I’m the sister-in-law to the family in the middle of the photo. By looking at this happy photo of them you wouldn’t suspect that they are the kind of people who are about to go through something unimaginable. First, let me tell you a little bit about this wonderful family. This is Sean, Rachel, and their son Lane (who is now 19 months!), they just recently moved to Bozeman, MT from Billings, MT to plant their family in their forever home. Rachel was an OB nurse in Billings and is continuing her career as an OB nurse in Bozeman. Sean works with an electrical company not too far from their new house! Sean and Rachel have said they felt like things were falling into place for them when they moved to Bozeman, especially with them expecting their second baby (which they said they’re waiting to find out the gender!). Everything seemed to be going great, until they got the worst news an expecting parent can hear.

On February 11th, Sean and Rachel were told their baby has Hypoplastic Left Side Heart Syndrome (HLHS), according to Mayo this means, “… the left side of the heart can't effectively pump blood to the body. Instead, the right side of the heart must pump blood to the lungs and to the rest of the body.” When I asked Rachel how the doctors could fix their baby, she took a deep breath and said, “a heart transplant. That’s really our only option. I feel like we were handed a death sentence.” Sean and Rachel proceeded to tell me that not only does their baby not have a fully developed left side of their heart but the baby’s tricuspid valve is also not working properly. This eliminates them from pursuing a three step surgical option that would allow baby to make due with what has developed of the heart and buy it more time until it needs to receive a heart transplant. With that option gone, baby would need a heart transplant after its born, as soon as possible, in order to survive. Sean and Rachel have talked with specialized doctors extensively about their options. The only other option, outside of a heart transplant, is to do comfort care after the baby is born. They are unsure of what path they’ll be taking until baby comes. This way they can see definitively how bad baby’s heart is and see where God leads them.

I’m writing this in hopes that my friends, family, loved ones, their loved ones, and strangers would considering donating to this beautiful family. They already have medical bills coming in and due to Rachel starting a new job, she does not qualify for short term disability or FMLA. So not only do they have to deal with the devastating news of their baby but they also have to worry about their finances. Rachel will be in Denver in a week and will be there until her c-section at the end of March. After her c-section, they’ll be there for as long as they need with baby, depending on what path they take.

If you’ve made it this far, I’m going to ask one more thing from you. Prayer. There is power in prayer and I’m asking for all you can give! Please share to you pages if you feel compelled.

Sincerely,

Shayla