Riley is officially 15. Can you believe it? Not only that, but he has an opportunity for a life-changing heart surgery and the reason for this GoFundMe. For those of you familiar with us and our story, you realize what an accomplishment these are. For those of you who are new to us, let me explain. It has been a wild ride filled with immeasurable joy and terror. Riley has many medical conditions, too many to list here. Three of these conditions are his greatest issues: hypoplastic left heart, CHARGE syndrome, and chronic lung disease. All of them left some of his doctors believing that he would not make it past 7. In their defense, Riley has “died” twice now. The key is he is still here. Somehow, each time, he comes back proving everyone wrong. He is the most resilient person I know. He is my hero and my heart. How can I explain how profoundly privileged and lucky I am to be Riley’s mom? He has taught me more about courage, resilience, perseverance, and unconditional love than anyone I have met. He has an infectious positivity and happiness that seems to touch almost anyone who interacts with him. In his world, everyone is a friend and someone to be loved. That is a genuinely beautiful world to live in. He has a light that is special and unique. A light that I would like to see shine for years to come.

His heart is what brings me here. Basically, Riley was born with the left side of his heart underdeveloped enough that it wouldn’t do the job it was designed to do. With the wonders of modern medicine, and the clever rearrangement of his plumbing, his doctors made it possible for Riley to survive with one side of his heart doing the bulk of the work. Unfortunately, this means that Riley survives at much lower oxygen levels than you or I. Two years ago, his doctors felt that the left side of his heart might be big enough to support pumping oxygenated blood to his body. The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital agrees and has offered to do a surgery that will restore his heart to what would essentially be a “normal” heart. I cannot express adequately how life-changing this has the potential to be for him. Just the opportunity to oxygenate like the rest of us will be monumental. It will mean he will have more energy to do the things he loves, like baseball, dancing, singing, and going to Disneyland. It will also mean that so many things most of us take for granted, like going to the mountains or getting on a plane, will become less of an issue for him. This has the potential to open whole new worlds for him. The surgery is set for April 18th, which is approaching rapidly. I am both terrified and excited for him.

The problem is that to do this we will have to go to Ohio for at least a month, more likely two or three. As some of you may be aware, I am paid by the state as one of Riley’s caregivers. Unfortunately, any time he is in the hospital I don’t get paid, as he is considered under the care of the hospital. This means I won’t be paid for more than a month and potentially much longer. I stand a chance of not being able to pay the mortgage, utilities, or animal food. So, here I am, asking for help. I am humbly requesting any donations that you all might provide so that I can be with Riley without worrying about whether we will have a home to come back to or potentially be so far under financially that we can’t recover. At this point, we don’t know what will be covered by insurance or if travel expenses, would be included. Below you will find a breakdown of what our basic bills look like. I am aiming to cover for three months of bills and sundries, since the one thing Riley is consistent with is his complete unpredictability and his ability to give me grey hair. Essentially, we are hoping for at least $10,113.

Mortgage- $1710

Electricity- $500

Trash- $111

Water- $50

Animal Feed and meds- $500

Incidentals while there- $25/wk

Food while there- $100/wk