Imagine living in a hospital room for weeks… or in many cases like ours, even months. The room gets smaller and smaller by the day. Your sense of privacy is stripped away. Machines beep constantly. Sleep becomes a luxury, and time no longer follows a normal rhythm. This is not a temporary stay; it becomes your life when your child is battling a critical heart condition like CHD.

Now picture being a parent in that room. You haven’t left the hospital in days. Forced to put aside all of “normal life necessities” like your job, bills, and so much more. You’re running on vending machine snacks and hospital coffee. Your clothes are what you grabbed in a panic. You’re a little on edge every time a doctor walks in. And through it all, you’re trying to stay strong for your baby, who’s fighting harder than anyone should ever have to.

This is the reality for thousands of families each year. And I know, because my wife, Samantha, and I lived it.

Our son was diagnosed with Double Outlet Right Ventricle Syndrome prenatally at 20 weeks. It was a moment filled with confusion, fear, and uncertainty. Although the doctors did their best to try and explain step by step what life would look like from that point on, everything we had expected our birth plan and soon after to look like was thrown out the window, and from that moment, we were at the reins of the cardiac team. As first-time parents, we saddled up and did everything we could to make sure we were educated and prepared for our little boy's arrival. No amount of research or support groups could ready your hearts and minds for the experience in its entirety. A week after Kiah's birth, he experienced an open-heart surgery to repair his DORVS, and when you see your child recovering from such a traumatic surgery, it’s all that occupies your mind. This is why we want to create these care packages. Every snack, every gift card, every dollar given to us during that time was a huge weight lifted off our shoulders without us even realizing it.

When you’re living in the hospital with your child, the smallest acts of kindness can mean the world. Whether it was a warm blanket, a gas card for those who have to travel daily to and from the hospital, an Uber or DoorDash gift card, a snack you didn’t have to think about, toiletries other than the travel-sized Dove soap you use for face, hair, and body, a journal to write in, even a handwritten note saying, “You are not alone.”

That’s why we’re creating “Kiah’s care packages” for CHD families who are stuck in the hospital for extended stays. These packages offer comfort, dignity, and more space in your brain to focus on your little one. They’re a reminder that someone out there sees their struggle and cares enough to help.

But we can’t do it without your support.

Help us make a difference. Whether it’s donating $10, a box of granola bars, cozy socks, or travel-size toiletries, every bit helps us reach one more parent on one more exhausting day. When we say “every little bit helps,” we mean it, because we’ve literally felt the impact the gesture of a $5 gas card or instant cup of mac n' cheese made.

Please join us in showing these families they are not forgotten. Help us bring comfort to these fear-filled rooms and hope to the hearts that need it most.

Funds will be used to purchases crates, snacks, gift cards, toiletries and other items that we found helpful and have heard to be helpful during our stay at the Children’s Hospital.

Any non monetary donations can be sent to our address. Please message me for details and questions.