Supporting Willa the Warrior
Donation protected
Willa the Warrior
Alex and Kayla Bulthuis welcomed Willa Rae Bulthuis into the world on September 6, 2020. The delivery was successful, and they were so blessed by their new daughter. They brought baby Willa home to meet big brother James on September 7th, ready to begin life as a family of four.
Willa’s check up with the doctor on September 9th went well, but later that evening Kayla and Alex noticed Willa’s breathing was consistently rapid, and she was no longer interested in nursing. After a sleepless night, they brought Willa back to the doctor to get a second assessment with these new symptoms. At this point it became evident that something was wrong and the doctors called an ambulance. Willa was rushed to the nearest hospital, where the medical team quickly assessed her. She was airlifted to the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital where more testing was done. There, the medical team discovered Willa had two cardiac issues threatening her organs and putting her body into shock; they decided to transfer her to Advocate Children’s Hospital (Christ Hospital) in Oak Lawn, IL, whose pediatric cardiac team is highly ranked.
So what’s going on with Willa’s heart? She has been diagnosed with coarctation of the aorta (COA) and ventricular septal defect (VSD). Here are some explanations of those diagnoses:
COA: Willa’s aorta is pinched, so the good blood pumped out of her heart isn’t making its way to the lower part of her body. (Before she was born, she was fine because the support from the umbilical cord bypassed the pinched part of the aorta.) Because there was a lack of blood flow from her heart once she was born, acid had been building up in her body, and her liver and kidneys had been damaged. Currently, Willa is on medication to keep blood flowing to the lower part of her body, and so far, it seems that her liver and kidneys have been improving. The doctors will need to correct this issue by cutting out and patching the thinned, pinched part of her aorta.
VSD: There is a hole between the two main chambers in Willa’s heart. This is common among babies, but Willa’s hole is too big for the heart to correct the hole on its own. Fixing this issue will require an open-heart surgery. During this surgery, the surgeon and medical team hope to correct the pinched aorta, as well. So far it appears that Willa will be strong enough to handle both procedures in one surgery.
Because of the issues in Willa’s heart, acids were building up in the body. Had she not received the medical intervention when she did, her organs would have suffered irreversible damage, and she would have passed away later that day. Alex and Kayla’s intuition helped detect issues that medical tests and assessments could not, and they are so thankful for the medical professionals who worked quickly and diligently to determine the cause of Willa’s rapid physical decline. They have been reassured that there was nothing they could have done at home to prevent either issue, and all of Willa’s medical tests and assessments were normal, even less than 24 hours before Alex and Kayla felt something just wasn’t right.
The amount of people who have expressed their interest in showing support for Willa, Kayla, Alex, and James has overwhelmed their family and friends. When this was brought to their attention, Kayla and Alex only asked for prayers: prayer that Willa’s organs would heal; prayer to guide Willa’s medical team; prayer that the numerous tests and scans would produce encouraging results; prayer for a successful surgery and recovery; prayer for big brother James, who has been a trooper while his Mommy and Daddy spend time at the hospital; prayer that Willa will be able to lead a healthy, normal life one day; prayer for the grief they feel as they mourn the loss of those precious first weeks at home with their newborn baby; prayer for strengthened faith as they watch their new daughter fight for her life; prayer that God would be blessed by their faith, and His name would be praised in this storm.
Our family has tried to describe to Kayla and Alex the widespread interest of many people looking to help out and support them. It is obvious that their family and friends are unable to provide what Kayla and Alex so desperately yearn for: complete healing for little Willa, and a healthy life ahead of her. (We are looking to the Lord and the medical experts at the hospital for that!) With just about everything out of everyone’s hands, people have prayed; they are so thankful for the community surrounding them! For those who are looking to support their family additionally, the extended family has set up this Go Fund Me to support the expenses the family will endure on what is expected to be a long road ahead of them. At four days old, Willa had one medevac helicopter ride, two ambulance transfers, and care from three different hospitals. Willa’s medical condition requires highly specialized care and a huge team of surgeons, doctors, nurses, respiratory specialists, and other therapists, and she will spend multiple weeks in the hospital. After some convincing, this fund has been created with their permission. Go Fund Me requires a financial goal to be set in order for a fund to be created; the reality is, the financial implications of Willa’s condition and care are unknown to Alex and Kayla. However, they would like it to be known that anything raised beyond what they can use to cover Willa’s medical expenses will be donated to support other families of children who face pediatric cardiac issues, Advocate Children’s Hospital, or their Ronald McDonald House.
“I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”
~ Philippians 4:13
Alex and Kayla Bulthuis welcomed Willa Rae Bulthuis into the world on September 6, 2020. The delivery was successful, and they were so blessed by their new daughter. They brought baby Willa home to meet big brother James on September 7th, ready to begin life as a family of four.
Willa’s check up with the doctor on September 9th went well, but later that evening Kayla and Alex noticed Willa’s breathing was consistently rapid, and she was no longer interested in nursing. After a sleepless night, they brought Willa back to the doctor to get a second assessment with these new symptoms. At this point it became evident that something was wrong and the doctors called an ambulance. Willa was rushed to the nearest hospital, where the medical team quickly assessed her. She was airlifted to the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital where more testing was done. There, the medical team discovered Willa had two cardiac issues threatening her organs and putting her body into shock; they decided to transfer her to Advocate Children’s Hospital (Christ Hospital) in Oak Lawn, IL, whose pediatric cardiac team is highly ranked.
So what’s going on with Willa’s heart? She has been diagnosed with coarctation of the aorta (COA) and ventricular septal defect (VSD). Here are some explanations of those diagnoses:
COA: Willa’s aorta is pinched, so the good blood pumped out of her heart isn’t making its way to the lower part of her body. (Before she was born, she was fine because the support from the umbilical cord bypassed the pinched part of the aorta.) Because there was a lack of blood flow from her heart once she was born, acid had been building up in her body, and her liver and kidneys had been damaged. Currently, Willa is on medication to keep blood flowing to the lower part of her body, and so far, it seems that her liver and kidneys have been improving. The doctors will need to correct this issue by cutting out and patching the thinned, pinched part of her aorta.
VSD: There is a hole between the two main chambers in Willa’s heart. This is common among babies, but Willa’s hole is too big for the heart to correct the hole on its own. Fixing this issue will require an open-heart surgery. During this surgery, the surgeon and medical team hope to correct the pinched aorta, as well. So far it appears that Willa will be strong enough to handle both procedures in one surgery.
Because of the issues in Willa’s heart, acids were building up in the body. Had she not received the medical intervention when she did, her organs would have suffered irreversible damage, and she would have passed away later that day. Alex and Kayla’s intuition helped detect issues that medical tests and assessments could not, and they are so thankful for the medical professionals who worked quickly and diligently to determine the cause of Willa’s rapid physical decline. They have been reassured that there was nothing they could have done at home to prevent either issue, and all of Willa’s medical tests and assessments were normal, even less than 24 hours before Alex and Kayla felt something just wasn’t right.
The amount of people who have expressed their interest in showing support for Willa, Kayla, Alex, and James has overwhelmed their family and friends. When this was brought to their attention, Kayla and Alex only asked for prayers: prayer that Willa’s organs would heal; prayer to guide Willa’s medical team; prayer that the numerous tests and scans would produce encouraging results; prayer for a successful surgery and recovery; prayer for big brother James, who has been a trooper while his Mommy and Daddy spend time at the hospital; prayer that Willa will be able to lead a healthy, normal life one day; prayer for the grief they feel as they mourn the loss of those precious first weeks at home with their newborn baby; prayer for strengthened faith as they watch their new daughter fight for her life; prayer that God would be blessed by their faith, and His name would be praised in this storm.
Our family has tried to describe to Kayla and Alex the widespread interest of many people looking to help out and support them. It is obvious that their family and friends are unable to provide what Kayla and Alex so desperately yearn for: complete healing for little Willa, and a healthy life ahead of her. (We are looking to the Lord and the medical experts at the hospital for that!) With just about everything out of everyone’s hands, people have prayed; they are so thankful for the community surrounding them! For those who are looking to support their family additionally, the extended family has set up this Go Fund Me to support the expenses the family will endure on what is expected to be a long road ahead of them. At four days old, Willa had one medevac helicopter ride, two ambulance transfers, and care from three different hospitals. Willa’s medical condition requires highly specialized care and a huge team of surgeons, doctors, nurses, respiratory specialists, and other therapists, and she will spend multiple weeks in the hospital. After some convincing, this fund has been created with their permission. Go Fund Me requires a financial goal to be set in order for a fund to be created; the reality is, the financial implications of Willa’s condition and care are unknown to Alex and Kayla. However, they would like it to be known that anything raised beyond what they can use to cover Willa’s medical expenses will be donated to support other families of children who face pediatric cardiac issues, Advocate Children’s Hospital, or their Ronald McDonald House.
“I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”
~ Philippians 4:13
Co-organizers (2)
Jenna Stoit
Organizer
Saint John, IN
Kayla Bulthuis
Beneficiary
Dana Kamphuis
Co-organizer