Dear friends and family… it’s been four months and Eli is doing wonderfully. We are closing this fundraiser and thank you all so, so much (from the bottom of our hearts!) for your generous support.

This is Elijah, or as many of us know him, Eli. He is amazing. He is one of the most big-hearted people you could ever hope to know.

His actual heart, unfortunately, is less amazing. Eli was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. That’s a lot of big words that boil down to one devastating thing: this boy with a huge and kind heart, has a heart in his chest which isn’t big enough to keep up with his growing body. His first open-heart surgery took place when he was only 3 days old.

The first week in November 2025, Eli’s heart began to fail. Despite the best possible care, it has become clear that Eli’s best option is a heart transplant.

As a result, Eli was flown from the Children’s Hospital of Illinois, down to St. Louis Children’s, where there is a pediatric transplant center.

On November 19, Eli was added to the transplant list. Just a few short hours later, he received the call that a donor heart had been found. Surgery is scheduled for 11/21, with weeks of rehab to follow.

Your help is needed now more than ever, to help Eli’s grandfather and guardian stay close by during this extended recuperation.