3 Yr Old Open Heart Surgery
Donation protected
Marcus Hartley is a 3 year old boy who lives with his parents, Scott and Nicole Hartley who reside in Edgerton, OH. Scott and Nicole have been and remain very good friends of mine since grade school. Marcus has 2 brothers, ages 2 and 5, and a 7 month old sister. In February, 2014 when the Hartley’s took Marcus in for his normal 18 month routine wellness check-up at the local hospital, they learned that Marcus had a heart murmur. They didn't think that it was going to be anything serious, but the Dr. wanted them to have it checked out by the Pediatric Cardiologist in Toledo, OH just to make sure.
In September of 2014, they had an appointment with the Pediatric Cardiologist who listened to his heart and said that it was a very loud murmur, and he ordered to have an ECHO (echocardiogram) done, to see the size of the hole. The first ECHO was scheduled for the following month, and they discovered that he has a condition known as Secundum Atrial Septal Defect. This is a hole between the upper two chambers of his heart. The condition was causing the right side of his heart to become enlarged due to fluid draining. At that time, the hole was measuring about 10mm in size. Over the course of the next 18 months and three ECHO’s later, they learned that Marcus’s hole had grown to 14mm in size. The Pediatric Cardiologist discussed doing a heart catheterization using a AMPLATZER® Septal Occluder device, a device used to close the hole while trying to avoid an open heart surgery procedure. In order to do the procedure, Marcus first needed to gain the proper amount of weight, 35lbs, to have the procedure done. Twenty months later, October of 2015, Marcus met the requirements to proceed and the procedure was schedule for December 4th, 2015.
During the procedure it was realized the hole was actually 18mms in size, which was at its smallest point, and the hole was located near the edge of the heart with very little healthy tissue to support the Septal Occluder device. Due to the risk of the heart tissue not being able to support the device, the Dr. decided to abort the procedure for the best interest of Marcus, and that open heart surgery was now the only viable solution.
On January 5th, 2016, it was decided to schedule open heart surgery as soon as possible. The date has been set for January 28th 2016, which is less than 2 weeks away, at the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital located in Ann Arbor, MI. Marcus will be required to stay in the ICU for a minimum of 2 days and recovery for another 5 days, as long as everything goes as planned. The total cost of the procedure is $183,000. After the insurance coverage and the discounts that the MOTTS Children’s hospital has with Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Hartley’s are left with an out of pocket cost of $20,000. This cost doesn’t account for any of the travel expenses while driving from Edgerton, OH to Ann Arbor, MI.
Since learning how expensive everything will be, I knew that I wanted to do something to help cover some of the cost. I have over 800 friends on Facebook, and I hope that you can help me reach my goal of $5,000 for the Hartley Family. 100% of the money raised will go towards Marcus's medical and travel expenses associated with his surgery. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and greatly appreciate ANY donation you are able to give. Every dollar counts! I look forward to the challenge of reaching my goal! Please share this with anyone who you think could help!!
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!
Nicholas Short
In September of 2014, they had an appointment with the Pediatric Cardiologist who listened to his heart and said that it was a very loud murmur, and he ordered to have an ECHO (echocardiogram) done, to see the size of the hole. The first ECHO was scheduled for the following month, and they discovered that he has a condition known as Secundum Atrial Septal Defect. This is a hole between the upper two chambers of his heart. The condition was causing the right side of his heart to become enlarged due to fluid draining. At that time, the hole was measuring about 10mm in size. Over the course of the next 18 months and three ECHO’s later, they learned that Marcus’s hole had grown to 14mm in size. The Pediatric Cardiologist discussed doing a heart catheterization using a AMPLATZER® Septal Occluder device, a device used to close the hole while trying to avoid an open heart surgery procedure. In order to do the procedure, Marcus first needed to gain the proper amount of weight, 35lbs, to have the procedure done. Twenty months later, October of 2015, Marcus met the requirements to proceed and the procedure was schedule for December 4th, 2015.
During the procedure it was realized the hole was actually 18mms in size, which was at its smallest point, and the hole was located near the edge of the heart with very little healthy tissue to support the Septal Occluder device. Due to the risk of the heart tissue not being able to support the device, the Dr. decided to abort the procedure for the best interest of Marcus, and that open heart surgery was now the only viable solution.
On January 5th, 2016, it was decided to schedule open heart surgery as soon as possible. The date has been set for January 28th 2016, which is less than 2 weeks away, at the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital located in Ann Arbor, MI. Marcus will be required to stay in the ICU for a minimum of 2 days and recovery for another 5 days, as long as everything goes as planned. The total cost of the procedure is $183,000. After the insurance coverage and the discounts that the MOTTS Children’s hospital has with Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Hartley’s are left with an out of pocket cost of $20,000. This cost doesn’t account for any of the travel expenses while driving from Edgerton, OH to Ann Arbor, MI.
Since learning how expensive everything will be, I knew that I wanted to do something to help cover some of the cost. I have over 800 friends on Facebook, and I hope that you can help me reach my goal of $5,000 for the Hartley Family. 100% of the money raised will go towards Marcus's medical and travel expenses associated with his surgery. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and greatly appreciate ANY donation you are able to give. Every dollar counts! I look forward to the challenge of reaching my goal! Please share this with anyone who you think could help!!
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!
Nicholas Short
Organizer and beneficiary
Nicholas Short
Organizer
Edgerton, OH
Scott Hartley
Beneficiary