Help the Mihulka's in their time of need.

I am sharing this post from Sam as Riley has gone to be with his heavenly father. Please know any and all donations will continue to go to the family to support them in their time of need. Please keep this precious family in your prayers!

Friends, I come to you with a heavy heart. Tonight we said goodbye to Riley as he went off to be with Jesus in heaven.

Riley started struggling keeping his vitals up again this afternoon. The team found that the fix they did earlier this week had come apart. This was most likely due to unanticipated high blood pressure episodes he had as a side effect to the brain injuries he had sustained while on bypass.

Our surgeons went in one last time this afternoon to try and close the leak via a catheter procedure as Riley was too weak to go back in for another open heart surgery. The catheter procedure went smoothly. However, it did not make enough of a change to improve Riley’s condition. This led us to the end of the road. We shed tears along side our surgeon as we made the decision to take Riley off of assistance. Luckily, both sets of Riley’s grandparents and his god mother were able to be in the room to say goodbye.

This doesn’t change a thing about good and loving our God is. His plan is the one we ultimately trust in. Our faith is what gives us the confidence that not only is Riley in a much better place, but also that Abbie and I will get to spend eternity with him someday. There is peace in knowing that he is being rocked to sleep by the God of the universe. Someone who is a much better father than I could ever be.

Riley is in the best place he could be. Our prayer requests now shift to Abbie and I as we are left to navigate this grief. Please pray for peace. Pray for unity. Pray for strength. And pray for our faith. This is going to be a tough and long road. As always, thanks to everyone for your support for our family.

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Original post:

I am asking for your support for this young family. Abigail recently gave birth to Riley. Both she and her husband Sam are wonderful new parents, completely dedicated to the health and success of their new son. However he has some challenges to overcome. They have been displaced from their home in Montrose in order to be in Denver with Riley, both of them putting their jobs and careers on hold while they care for their son. As you can imagine - the expense is tremendous. Please support them on this journey if you are able.

The following is written by his mother:

Riley’s name means “valiant and courageous”. We chose his name before his diagnosis, but after he was diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) at 23 weeks of gestation we knew we had to keep it. HLHS is a condition in which the left side of the heart is underdeveloped to the point of dysfunction. To survive, Riley will undergo three open heart surgeries resulting in a heart reconstruction. After this, his prognosis for a normal life is really good! His first surgery was at 6 days old. He was in the in the hospital for 7 weeks to recover, which included a second minor procedure to address an infection in his chest. His next surgery will be at the end of the summer. Between now and then, he is undergoing home monitoring and frequent doctors appointments to make sure his condition continues to improve. We will be living on the front range until after the second surgery due to the complexity of his status during this interstage period. His third surgery will be between the ages 2-5 years old.

In addition to being new parents and navigating Riley’s complex heart condition, we had to relocate at the beginning of March. We will be away from home and out of normal work for at least 6 months. We have seen God provide for us miraculously through the community around us. Know that any support you give is an immense blessing and answered prayer!

When we get back to Montrose, we are excited to share our community and the beautiful place with live with our baby boy!