My name is Logan Ahlers, and I’m honored to organize this fundraiser for Matthew and Kaleigh Pello as they navigate an unimaginable season with their beautiful daughter, Leyton Grace.

Leyton was born on June 18th, a seemingly healthy 8 lb 11 oz baby girl. Within hours, she began struggling to regulate her blood sugar, and doctors heard a heart murmur. An echocardiogram revealed two rare, lifethreatening defects: Interrupted Aortic Arch (IAA) Type B and a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD). Without urgent treatment, she wouldn’t survive.

At just a few days old, Leyton was airlifted from Wichita to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. Specialists placed pulmonary artery flow restrictors and a heart valve stent to stabilize her circulation until she was big enough for full repair. She went home in July, bringing so much light and joy but by mid-August, her heart began struggling again. She was unexpectedly airlifted once again to Kansas City, and on August 25th, surgeons performed a 10-hour open-heart bypass surgery, reconnecting her aortic arch and closing the VSD.

Recovery has been anything but simple. Leyton has faced:

• Persistent high blood pressure and three medications to control it

• A blood clot near an arterial line (now thankfully resolved)

• Feeding difficulties requiring an NG tube and swallow studies

• Swelling of her tongue from a rare allergic reaction (Angioedema) , which led to re-intubation for several days

• Pneumonia and excess fluid in her lungs

• Weeks of sedation, lab draws, and constant monitoring in the CICU

Despite these setbacks, Leyton’s spirit shines. She’s breathing on her own again, her incision is healing beautifully, and she’s slowly weaning off sedation and blood pressure drips so she can graduate from intensive care. Her cardiology team is thrilled with her progress but expects she’ll need another surgery in 4–6 months to widen and clear tissue in her heart’s left ventricular outflow tract as she grows.

Through it all, Matt and Kaleigh have stayed by her bedside, learning every procedure and comforting their brave girl. They’ve taken leave from work and juggled hospital life with keeping their home running. Meanwhile, travel costs, meals, lodging, and medical bills continue to climb.

Your support can help lift that weight so they can keep their focus where it belongs: on Leyton’s healing. Every gift, large or small, helps cover ongoing care, therapies, and the practical expenses of living at a children’s hospital for weeks on end.

Leyton Grace has already beaten odds that once felt impossible. With your help, she can continue fighting toward a future full of laughter, milestones, and the childhood she deserves.

Thank you for surrounding this family with love, prayers, and generosity.