As many of you know, I’m Marissa, mom to Remington (7) and Julius (11 months). Saturday, August 9th started as a normal day. We went food shopping, the kids were playing, and little Julius was his usual happy self — smiling, laughing, and charming everyone who passed by.

But when we got home, everything changed. As I picked Julius up, I noticed his breathing seemed off. My mommy instincts told me something wasn’t right. He hadn’t been sick — no runny nose, no congestion, nothing. But suddenly, he was struggling. I grabbed him and his diaper bag and rushed to the hospital.

The doctors’ faces told me it was serious. My heart shattered when they told me Julius’ heart was only working at 15%. A virus had attacked his heart. They said it was RhinoVirus — something so common — but instead of his lungs, it attacked his heart. Out of nowhere, our world flipped upside down.

Things moved fast. He was airlifted to another hospital, put in a drug-induced coma, and placed on ECMO because his tiny heart couldn’t keep up. We’ve since been transferred again, and now we’re facing talks of a possible heart transplant. Each day brings new news, new fears, and new hope — but through it all, we are praying for complete healing and covering Julius in the blood of Jesus. ❤️

Right now, our family is in the middle of a long, unexpected hospital stay. We are dealing with meals on the go, hotel stays, and constant travel back and forth, on top of other bills/ expenses that are piling up due to us unexpectedly leaving our jobs and hometown, we try to stretch every penny, but this has placed a huge burden on us. We need all the help we can get.

Every single dollar will go directly toward travel, food, gas, and bills while we fight alongside our baby. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your prayers, your support, and your love. We will continue to keep everyone updated on Julius’ journey to full healing.

UPDATE : he just got off the ecmo machine! But we still have a long stay and long recovery ahead, and may go back to Jacksonville for the rest of his treatment. Keep praying for baby juju