Hello online friends, please work your magic and help support this beautiful family! Even if everyone gave $5 it would add up so fast! ❤️ Matt & Danece are two of the sweetest people I’ve ever met, their son Johnathan was born just days apart from our son Liam. I can’t believe they are almost 10 now!!! I remember the sadness I felt when we were both posting baby updates almost a decade ago, my sweet boy was perfectly healthy, while Johnathan was going to be born with significant health issues, including lung defects. My mamma heart has always been heavy for their family, as well as in awe of how amazing they are and how they put their faith in Jesus to always provide and make a way! They probably won’t love that I created this crowdfunding page, but we stick together when our babies are going through it, and we humble ourselves and accept the help of friends who love us ❤️

On January 30th Johnathan had a surgery to remove the damaged portion of his left lung, and while they knew recovery would take a few days in the hospital and several weeks at home, they were not financially, or emotionally prepared for the complications that have come after surgery. Unfortunately Jonathan is experiencing an air leak after his procedure, and for days doctors have been trying to fix this, including two blood patches, where they draw a small amount of Johnathan’s own blood and instill it through his chest tube where it will naturally clot and seal the small opening where air is escaping so that the bronchial stump can begin to heal. Unfortunately those blood patches haven’t been holding and they are going to attempt a third, as Johnathan has now developed a pneumothorax. I know the strain on Matt, Danece and the entire family is heavy. The procedures hurt, and they are scary for Johnathan. This is the most recent update from Danece today:

Jonathan update

This morning was extremely difficult, and now that we’ve spoken with the surgical team, I want to share a fuller update.

Jonathan developed a pneumothorax, which means air built up in his chest cavity and caused his left lung volume to decrease by about 40%. This explains the sudden change this morning and why he had to be placed back on wall suction. Unfortunately, moving from water seal back to suction is very painful, and Jonathan has been struggling a lot with that. He can barely move right now and hasn’t wanted to eat or drink because he’s so uncomfortable. Watching him go through this has been heartbreaking.

The current plan is to slowly step his suction levels down while monitoring him closely with repeat X-rays. Right now, he is on suction level 20. If his noon X-ray looks good, they will try lowering it to 15 and then recheck him again this evening. If he tolerates that, they will continue gradually lowering the suction to 10 with additional imaging. If his lung continues to stay expanded and stable, the goal is to eventually move him back to water seal again.

If the air leak is still present by Monday, they are discussing the possibility of doing a third blood patch procedure. At this point, they cannot give us a timeline for how long we will be here.

When I asked what happens if this doesn’t work, the surgeon didn’t have a clear long-term answer, but she did say something that we are trying to hold onto — that this is considered one of the better-case complications to have after this type of surgery. That doesn’t make it easy or less scary, but it is helping us cling to hope in the middle of so many unknowns.

I’m going to be honest… I am not doing well with all of this. I’m a planner and an over-thinker, and not having clear answers is incredibly hard. My mind keeps going back to the same fear — what if the air leak doesn’t stop? Watching Jonathan in pain and feeling so helpless has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced as a mom.

This has also created major financial strain for our family. We were already trying to recover after I was out of work for several months, and this complication has made things much harder. Matt thankfully has PTO, but I do not. My employer has been incredibly gracious and supportive, but it has been extremely difficult trying to focus at work while all I want is to be with my baby. Leaving him has felt impossible some days.

Matt has been doing everything he can to stay strong for our family, and I am so grateful for him holding us together during this.

We are asking for some specific prayers at this point. Please pray for:

• Complete healing of Jonathan’s lung and that the air leak stops

• Relief from his pain and comfort for his body

• Wisdom and guidance for his surgical team

• Peace for our minds as we navigate so many unknowns

• Strength for our family as we continue walking through this

• Provision and stability as we face unexpected financial strain

Thank you for loving Jonathan and standing beside our family through this. We feel every prayer, message, and word of encouragement more than we can express.