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Oliver's Heart

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My name is Ashley Holtschlag. A couple of weeks ago, my brother Brandon and sister-in-law Ashley's lives took an unexpected turn when they went in for their 20 week anatomy scan to see their beautiful baby boy, Oliver Robert Jeffrey VanCamp. They were told little Oliver has what’s called Transposition of the Great Vessels, which means his pulmonary artery and his aorta grew in the opposite places. This essentially means he does not have proper blood flow and oxygen pumping through his heart and to the rest of his little 1lb body. Within a week they had a scheduled appointment at Barnes Jewish Children’s Hospital. The diagnosis was confirmed and they were informed that their little guy is going to have to have open heart surgery within the first week of his life. Ashley will deliver in St. Louis at Barnes so he can have the surgery without being transferred from Quincy.  After their initial visit, were able to process and accept that open heart surgery was expected in the first few days of life. They were also told that although there is little oxygen flowing through his body, there are two spots in his heart that help this oxygen flow- the Foramen Ovale and the Ductus Arteriosus. During their last fetal echo they were told that these two parts of his heart are starting to shrink, which means that not only is even less oxygen flowing throughout his body, but it is causing additional pressure to be placed on his lungs. This essentially means that when he is born he will need an emergency procedure to open these two areas of his heart immediately following delivery (which now is looking like a scheduled c-section so a team can be on standby for the procedure). Thinking long term- there’s a chance he will be limited in physical activity. This additional pressure on the lungs means he will be more sick than originally anticipated. He will not be strong enough to have the open heart surgery for the switch until a couple weeks after delivery. He will be on oxygen and a breathing tube from the time of procedure after delivery to the time of his open heart surgery to help give him the strength he needs to make it through. This means they are now looking staying around 4-6 weeks as opposed to their original thought of 2-3. They said there’s a chance these areas of the heart can open up again, but they are preparing as if they will not. This time away is going to be extremely difficult for them. They have a 1 year old daughter, Lily, that they will have to be away from for most of this time. She will be able to visit, but she will be staying with her grandparents in Illinois and Ohio for the majority of their stay in St. Louis. Throughout this entire process, they always continue to trust in God’s plan and recognize how blessed they are to have a beautiful daughter and a strong son.  With all of that said, Brandon will be off work for at least two months, and they will be staying in St. Louis to be closer to their little boy. They will struggle emotionally throughout this time, but they will also struggle financially. The hospital stay plus open heart surgery will result in medical bills that they will have a hard time paying. We are asking for donations to assist them with medical bills, housing bills, and expenses for doggy daycare during the time they are not working.  Please help this amazing family as they prepare for the biggest challenge of their lives.
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    Ashley Holtschlag
    Organizer
    Quincy, IL

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