Hello everyone, I wanted to start a GoFundMe to give my brother and his wife some relief and support as their 3-year-old son undergoes heart surgery.

It began in 2021 when an ultrasound revealed that their son, Marc, had a serious heart condition called Double Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV), and would need 3 heart surgeries in his early life. Just 1 week after his birth, he had his first heart surgery. Then, 8 months later, he had a second surgery, but faced an unexpected hospital re-admission due to serious respiratory distress resulting from a virus he caught shortly after surgery. Fortunately, he recovered and has been a happy and growing boy.

Fast forward to today, at just 3 years old, he is undergoing his third and final surgery. So far, things have not gone as planned. 

As the doctors went in for the procedure, they found that the outside of his heart was attached to the sternum, which is very rare. As the surgeon tried to detach it, his heart was nicked, which caused it to bleed. They immediately stopped the surgery and hooked him up to a bypass machine to alleviate the bleeding and repair the cut, but air got into his system, and a small amount traveled to the left side of his brain. This caused Marc to suffer an embolic stroke, which severely impacted his mobility in both his right arm and leg.

Thankfully, with the help of his physical therapist, occupational therapist, and neurology team, he has slowly been improving. But the heart procedure that he still requires has been delayed to allow his body and brain to heal. When he undergoes that final surgery, he will have to start the healing process all over again. And once he is healthy enough, he will go through rehab to continue to work with the physical and occupational therapists to hopefully gain complete control of his right side.

My brother and his wife will have to take even more time off work than originally anticipated, which will put a financial burden on them. Despite all of these hardships and setbacks, my brother and his wife continue to have a positive attitude and look on the bright side of things. They are amazing parents, not only lovingly tending to Marc through all of his medical needs, but also raising their 7-year-old daughter, Sabrina, who also endured surgery after birth for her defect (EA/TEF) and a few more surgeries up until the age of 4. They have shouldered a considerable weight on their own, so I want to do anything I can to ease that burden. That's why I’m reaching out to the community and asking for generosity and kindness so that they can have a little relief from this long and challenging journey.