Kurt Moore's Heart Surgery

This is my nephew Kurt.  You would never know by looking at this handsome guy with an infectious smile, what he has gone through in only the first year of his life. Kurt was diagnosed in utero with a double inlet left ventricle (DILV) or "single ventricle".  This is a congenital heart defect appearing in 5 in every 100,000 newborns, where both the left atrium and the right atrium feed into the left ventricle of the heart. Normally there are 4 chambers doing all this work, but Kurt’s tiny heart is working overtime to supply his body with blood, oxygen and nutrients.  Infants born with DILV cannot feed normally because they get tired very quickly and thus have difficulty gaining weight. Because of this, mortality is very high in the first 2 years (85%).  Kurt was only one week old when the doctors inserted a G-Tube into his stomach to help him eat, gain weight and thrive.  Shortly after this, he had his first heart surgery where his doctors placed a pulmonary band that helped restrict blood flow. Next week Kurt will undergo his second heart surgery where the pulmonary band will be removed, and the doctors may potentially move his vena cava (a large vein carrying  blood into the heart), to increase blood flow as well as to control pressure within and surrounding his heart.    

 Without life-prolonging interventions, DILV is fatal, but with intervention, children with DILV can lead normal lives if the condition is monitored.  Kurt will undergo many more surgeries as he and his heart grow.  When he is between 3-5 years old he will have another surgery and eventually as an adult will need an entire heart transplant. 

 Kurt’s mommy and daddy will be spending all their time with him at Strong Memorial hospital in Rochester, NY beginning next week, and have no idea how long they will be away from their home and Kurt’s two other siblings Avery and Kennedy.  I wanted to create this GoFundMe to help them survive the overwhelming travel, lodging and logistics costs associated with Kurt’s surgery and the inability to work during this time.  Kurt’s parents Sasha and Mike would never ask anyone for help, so I am doing it for them.  Please help support my family and most importantly my nephew Kurt and his long journey ahead.