Meet Miles Miller, aka "the Hulk," a happy, sweet, now 7-year-old boy.  Miles is like so many kids his age; he loves playing sports, fan of all superheroes, and loves spending time with his parents and two sisters.  He is very active and filled with energy.  



Discovering his Diagnosis
On March 7,  2018, Miles was involved in an accident where a metal bar struck him in the face breaking his jaw and knocking several of his front teeth out of place.  He would need surgery on his jaw to wire his teeth back in place.  During his standard preoperative evaluation doctors discovered a dramatically elevated blood pressure.  An ultrasound of his heart later revealed a condition called "Coarctation of the Aorta."  In this condition the large main artery that leads blood out of the heart is kinked or narrowed causing a dangerous rise in blood pressure.  If left untreated this can lead to serious problems including heart failure, stroke, and even death.

Miles would now require at least 2 surgeries, one to fix his jaw, and another to fix the major artery (the aorta) leaving his heart. 

On March 9th, under close monitoring due to his newly discovered condition, Miles underwent surgery to wire his jaw and teeth.

On May 4th, after nearly 2 months of only eating soft foods, his jaw wires were removed. During this typically routine procedure his heart rate crashed and the doctors were about to start chest compressions. Fortunately, they were able to recover him with some strong medications before things got worse.

After his jaw surgery, Miles' parents took him to meet with heart specialists at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

(CT scan showing large coarctation "kink or narrowing" of his aorta)


On June 25, 2018, Miles underwent surgery to remove the segment of the aorta that had narrowed.  

A less invasive approach was taken through his ribs, rather than opening up the front of his chest.


Here is the section of this aorta that they successfully removed, surgeons then re-attached the two remaining segments.
(In a normal section of this blood vessel (aorta) the blood is able to freely flow through the entire diameter of what is pictured above, however, as you can see the aorta was extremely narrowed to less than a millimeter of space for blood to flow)

More about Coarctation of the Aorta
Coarctation of the aorta is typically discovered much earlier in life than was the case for Miles.  The first sign is usually a dramatically elevated blood pressure when measured in the arms and much lower pressures when measured in the legs (the narrowing stops blood from flowing freely to the lower half of the body).  When it is discovered at an earlier age it can be surgically treated with typically successful outcomes.  Because of the delay in diagnosis Miles' had developed "accessory" or extra blood vessels to "get around the narrowing."  Although this was an adaptation by his body to overcome the problem, it wasn't enough to lower his blood pressure, and it ended up making surgery to repair his condition much more complex and dangerous.  

After Miles' first surgery the hope was that his blood pressure would return to normal and that he could recover without further issue.  Unfortunately, after watchful and hopeful waiting for months since his first surgery, his blood pressure remains at dangerously high levels, requiring multiple medications to control.  

Eventually it was determined that a much larger segment of narrowing along with the "accessory" or extra blood vessels that his body had created were too much for his body to overcome and maintain a normal blood pressure.  Miles would need a "complete reconstruction of his upper aorta."  This time the planned surgery will be much more complex, much more invasive, and much more dangerous.  He will require open heart surgery through the front of his chest and the use of a heart bypass machine. 

Miles' next surgery is scheduled at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 30th, 2019.

About this Fundraiser
Hello, my name is Jeff Kimball, I am Miles' uncle.  Thank you for reading about Miles' story.  I started this page to reach out to any and all who are willing to help contribute to Miles' upcoming major open heart surgery.  Miles has two very loving parents who are working hard to get him the best treatment available.  However, the expense of major surgery and the time off of work required to help with Miles' recovery create a challenging financial burden.  Please consider contributing even a small amount to help ease some of the burden of this very stressful situation.  Thank you so much!

Our thoughts and prayers are with Miles and his family as they go through this stressful time.


All contributions will go directly towards paying Miles' medical related expenses.




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