My name is Charity and I have created this fundraiser for Matt and Maria Gray as their newborn son waits for a heart transplant. My husband and Matt have been friends since middle school and the three of us graduated together more than 20 years ago. All funds raised will go directly to Matt and Maria.

On October 9th, Matt and his wife Maria welcomed a beautiful baby boy named Marshall. Marshall went home totally healthy to the new house they bought just days before his birth.

The night of October 31st, Marshall had stopped eating, felt cold, and seemed to be breathing abnormally, so they rushed him to the local ER. The local ER called 911 and an ambulance took the baby straight to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where an echo of his heart and a battery of tests showed devastating news; Marshall’s heart was not supporting his body and his kidneys would need dialysis. The doctors were perplexed as Marshall’s issues were on the right side of his heart where they’d typically see them on the left. They think he had an infection of some sort that weakened his heart. They still aren’t sure precisely what caused this.

Marshall was placed on ECMO (life support) where he’d spend 21 days and his parents thought they’d lose him multiple times. But he held on. At just 6 weeks old, Marshall had surgery to have a biventricular Berlin Heart placed.

A biventricular Berlin Heart is a biventricular assist device (BiVAD), an external mechanical pump that supports both the right and left sides of the heart when a patient's heart is failing.

Because of his size, doctors had to remove parts of his ventricles to place the device. This was the first time this specific procedure has ever been performed at Cincinnati Children's and the procedure was successful. Unfortunately, this also means that Marshall’s heart will not be able to be repaired and he must receive a heart transplant.

Aside from praying, and PLEASE do, there is not much we can do but support Matt and Maria in a critical way. The medical bills, gas to and from the hospital, and expenses that will surely mount once Matt’s paid parental leave ends - these are things they shouldn’t have to think about as they focus on their son. The funds raised will be used to ease the burden of these various expenses and to help ensure Matt and Maria can stay with their son.

Thank you for your support!