Ash was born with Tetralogy of Fallot, a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) including a hole between the ventricles and narrow pulmonary valve.
At 11 weeks old, Ash had a Tet Spell (dangerously low oxygen levels) and stopped breathing, it was a frightening day for our family! We stayed at Texas Children’s Hospital for weeks, where a surgeon performed a 10-hour Open Heart Surgery. This surgery gave us many great years together and improved Ash's quality of life greatly.
But in early 2020, at age 9, Ash went into Heart Failure. After a failed cath procedure to replace the pulmonary valve, the surgical team decided another open heart surgery was the best option, Ash had a second Open Heart Surgery in November 2020 at Texas Children’s Hospital. Although it was extremely painful and stressful, Ash enjoyed several visits from the Hospital Therapy Dog, Bailey, a huge fluffy Golden Retriever. Ash said staying in the hospital felt more like staying in a hotel, and enjoyed talking to Doctors and Nurses.
Tetralogy of Fallot will always be a part of Ash’s life, surgical repairs for CHDs are not a cure. Although Ash’s heart was repaired, more procedures and Cardio visits will always be necessary.Ash proudly carries the Heart Warrior title, we have made sure Ash knows that the struggles and scars the surgeries left make them a fighter, a brave, strong and determined real life Heart Warrior! We would love for you to join us in celebrating Ash's life. Thank you for being a part of the support system Ash needs and loves!
Ash loves making new friends, traveling, swimming, Teslas, planes, flying and riding his hoverboard, playing video games, talking to friends, coding, game design, and playing with our pets: we have 2 dogs named Lucky & Lucy, and 4 cats named Loki, Xano, Lexy & Ace. When Ash grows up, they wants to be a Pilot, or Engineer or Video Game Developer. Raising funds for congenital heart defect (CHD) research is not only critically important to all babies born with, and children and adults living with CHDs, it is also personally meaningful to our family.
By donating to help us reach our fundraising goal, you're helping to fund the most promising research into CHDs - America's most common birth defect.
Together we can make a life-saving difference! Thank you in advance for your support.