<div> <strong>Who Auston Is</strong>

</div>

<div>Auston is a 29-year-old husband and dad with a heart of gold, a constant twinkle in his eye, and a deep love for his family.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>It’s been one of the great joys of my life to be his aunt—the luckiest aunt in the world, really—watching him grow from the cutest newborn I’d ever seen to a silly, playful toddler, then a thoughtful and loving kid, and now a truly remarkable young man. He's grown into someone kind, cool, and full of heart—and he’s always been deeply, wonderfully Auston.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div> <strong>What Happened</strong>

</div>

<div>Earlier this year, Auston started feeling unusually tired—something he chalked up to the beautiful chaos of life: planning a wedding, adjusting to the sleepless wonder of a growing baby, and managing the everyday demands of work. He pushed through, thinking it was just part of this big, busy season.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>But things got worse. Low-grade fevers crept in, followed by night sweats, body aches, and red spots on his legs. He began losing weight and was overwhelmed with fatigue and pain. By early June, it became clear—this wasn’t just stress or exhaustion. Something was wrong.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>A trip to the ER turned into a reality none of us were prepared for.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>After a whirlwind of tests, Auston was diagnosed with Subacute Bacterial Endocarditis, a rare and dangerous infection of the heart’s inner lining, caused by a difficult-to-treat bacteria called Abiotrophia defectiva. The infection had quietly damaged his aortic valve. Doctors soon discovered it had been bicuspid since birth—two flaps instead of three—a condition that made him more vulnerable than anyone had known.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>Open-heart surgery became his only option. On June 16th, Auston had his aortic valve replaced with a mechanical one. The surgery went better than expected—but the hours that followed were terrifying. His blood pressure dropped dangerously low, and for a while, things were touch and go. But Auston pulled through.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>On June 20th, he underwent a second surgery to place a pacemaker, ensuring his heart can continue to beat with strength and stability.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>❤️‍ <strong>The Road Ahead</strong>

</div>

<div>Auston is out of the danger zone, but recovery from open-heart surgery is no small thing. We’re deeply grateful—for God’s mercy, for the prayers that covered him, and for the incredible medical team that cared for him. Healing has begun, but the road ahead is long.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>He still faces weeks in the hospital—IV antibiotics, medication tweaks, and eventually, cardiac rehab. He’ll be on lifelong blood thinners to manage his new valve. Rebuilding his strength and stamina will also take time.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>It’s a tough road for anyone—especially for a new husband and dad in the prime of his life, trying to keep up with a baby in the prime of his curiosity and mobility.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>Thankfully, Auston comes equipped with everything he needs for the fight ahead: a deep well of faith, an incredible wife, a small army of lovingly bossy siblings and cousins, rock-solid parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and just the right amount of stubbornness to power through.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div> <strong>How You Can Help</strong>

</div>

<div>As you can imagine, the financial toll is steep. Hospital bills, two surgeries, and the uncertainty of what’s next—it adds up quickly.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div><strong>We’re reaching out to ask for your help. Whether you donate, send a prayer, share kind words, or simply pass this along to others—every bit of support makes a difference. </strong>It truly helps lift the load so Auston, Samantha, and baby Myles can focus on what matters most: healing, hope, and holding on to each other.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div><strong> Thank You</strong>

</div>

<div>Thank you for being part of Auston’s story. Your support reminds him that he’s not walking this road alone. We’ve felt grace in the hardest moments, and we continue to trust in God—for strength, for healing, and for brighter days ahead.

</div>

Christine Filer

Anonymous

Lauren Bachman

Brady Hayes

Megan Ranney

Emily Surges

Suzanne Ruegg

Anne Devine

Ethan Grubbs

Nicole Nigg

Lori Reynolds

Jaq Nigg

James Michael Thomas

Judie Conley

Charles L Surges III

Beth Falkenbach

Brenna Ruegg

Help Auston After Emergency Heart Surgery

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

Eligible for Profile Share Badge

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

isEligibleForProfileBadge

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Help Auston After Emergency Heart Surgery

Still $3,572 to go. Help us build momentum.