Isaiah & Iliana's Journey

In life people come & people go but then there are those that you know will be with you until you guys are old & senile. This is what Melissa & her family are to me, friends for a lifetime. Melissa & her family are just your average family. Her & her husband work, go to school, & are full time parents to 3 crazy, adventurous kids (Isaiah, Adrien, & Iliana). With all that is on their plate, they will be soon approaching another significant event in their lives.

This summer, they must prepare their family for Adrien's THIRD heart surgery! He is in need of another pulmonary valve. Sadly, this will NOT be his last needed heart surgery during his childhood. As he grows, the valve will need to be replaced again.



Adrien is a lively 9yr old kid. He is full of life & very knowledgeable about his heart condition. I remember one day he randomly ran up to me & started talking about his heart surgery. Though he was too young to remember the actual events, he can tell you what his scars were from. He showed me his scar from his open heart surgery, the scar from where his feeding tube was, he even showed me where his pacemaker was & told me what it was for!



Isaiah is Adrien's older brother. They fight & make up just like brothers do. At the end of the day, Isaiah is a very protective big brother & always has Adrien's back. Isiah is a strong athlete. He plays with so much heart because he's playing for two. Adrien is unable to play sports due to his heart disease. Adrien attends all of Isiah's basketball game & is on the sideline cheering & coaching his big brother on.



Iliana is the youngest in the family. Her big brothers are her world. She is very loving but feisty too. She was so excited to start school & be with her brothers. In true big brother form, Isaiah & Adrien are always watching out for her.

Now, what I am reaching out to the community for is donations to help with transportation for Adrien's brother & sister to be with their grandparents while Adrien travels to Coloumbus, OH for his surgery. All of their families are in Florida & Tennessee while they live in NC. The donation will also go towards helping with transportation and accomadtions for his parents as well. The Ronald McDonald's house will only allow his parents to stay for a few days & after that they will have to find other  accomadations. 

I could ever imagine the amount of stress & worrying that they are going through. I want to try to relieve at least one stress factor so that they can focus solely on Adrien's big day, therefore I am reaching out to everyone. If the goal is exceeded then the extra will go towards Adrien's medical expenses. Every little bit counts & is deeply appreciated!