Our 8-month-old son, Wesley, was recently diagnosed with Shone’s Complex, a rare congenital heart condition that involves multiple obstructive defects on the left side of his heart. In Wesley’s case, this includes a parachute mitral valve, coarctation of the aorta, and a bicuspid aortic valve. These issues are affecting his blood flow and could lead to heart failure, shortness of breath, and fatigue. After meeting with the surgeon, we feel optimistic and trust their expertise, but as parents, we are still deeply worried about our infant undergoing major surgery.

Medicaid should cover the surgery itself, but we are facing significant financial challenges during Wesley’s hospital stay and recovery. We live about two hours away from the hospital, and I am a stay-at-home mom while my husband works full time at a local business. I will be staying at the hospital with Wesley the entire time, and my husband wants to be with us, but his job does not offer paid medical leave. This means we risk falling behind on bills and rent if he takes time off, and he will likely need to drive back and forth during Wesley’s recovery, which is estimated to be around five days, unless there are complications.

Any help we can get would take this weight off our minds and allow us to fully focus on Wesley’s recovery, not worrying about not having a roof over our head to go back to. Your support would mean the world to our family and help us through this difficult time.