Jack's WRight Heart

Phil and Emily are expecting this month! Their little baby Jack has some serious medical conditions that will be accompanied by some serious medical bills.

The official name is Heterotaxy Syndrome. This syndrome has 2 parts to it. Jack has the Right Atrial Isomerism. This means his organs are not in the right place or are dual/mirror copies of the right sided organs. Since the spleen is a left side organ, he will be missing his spleen. The   main concern is with Jack's heart. Multiple surgeries will be required    to fix all of the defects of his heart. He only has 2 chambers, 1 abnormal valve that was supposed to develop into 2 valves did not separate into  the 2 valves, and his pulmonary artery and aortic artery are inverted and are connected to each other. The pulmonary artery is under-developed and non-functional. Right now, the aortic artery is what is keeping him alive so it is great that that is still working. It is when he is born that the pulmonary artery will cause problems. There is already a plan in place for that. There is some concern about his intestines and    what they will look like when he is born. He is too small to be able to see that right now. He may have some digestive tract issues but once    again, we won't know that until he is born. We will not know the extent of the layout of his organs until he is born. The doctor's main focus is to keep an eye on Jack's heart and its growth. The plan as it stands right    now is that Jack will have at least 3 surgeries: one during the first week of life, the second at 4-6 months old, and the third will be when he is 3  years old. All of the surgeries will be to make improvements as needed  to his heart. 

Starting in a few weeks, Phil and Emily will be staying in SLC until they  can bring Jack home. There are substantial costs for medical,  travel,  and living while Phil is on leave from his job. 

Please consider donating to this wonderful family.