Courtney's Heart

Jennifer Witkowski is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Shilo Doell.

Donation protected

Thank you for reading our story and finding our GoFundMe page.

Our beautiful teenage daughter Courtney, was diagnosed with a heart condition dilated cardiomyopathy. She was first diagnosed with this at the age of 18 months. During the past 14 years we were blessed to have a vivacious and healthy daughter. However this was all about to change...

On October 23rd Courtney's health took a turn for the worst. Courtney was taken to Children's Hospital because of the pain she was experiencing in her chest and a constant fatigue not normal for a 16 year old girl. After a series of tests, the doctors said they were very concerned about the way her heart was functioning and the pressure in her lungs. After this moment they gave us devastating news that she was experiencing heart failure. Our once healthy daughter is now in need of a heart transplant.

This was shocking and devastating to hear since our daughter had been leading a normal childhood. She was very active with her friends, sports, and her passion cheerleading. Since receiving this news from the doctors it has been a series of emotions from disbelief, wondering how and why this is happening, to how we can fix this to make her healthy again.
All questions any parent would ask.

The team of cardiologists then informed us that Courtney would need to remain in the hospital, (where she already has been for the past 60 days) to prepair her body for a full heart transplant.
However, they also shared because of her lung pressure, they couldn't do the heart transplant immediately and explained there would be multiple steps before a transplant.

On November 12th, Courtney went in for her first open heart surgery to implant a ventricular assist device known as a VAD. This device took over for the left side of her heart and is a short term solution. This procedure was necessary to keep Courtney alive and allow her lungs and heart to regain strength. The VAD is an essential device for her to be placed on the heart transplant list. Our daughter's life is threatened daily for the unknown. Although this was the solution, we still wondered if the VAD implant would work. Also would it continue to properly support the function of her heart until she is strong enough for a transplant?

The surgery has provided the relief necessary to sustain the left side of her heart. However, the right side has had some complications causing fluid to build up in her lungs which has resulted in chest tubes being placed to drain the fluid. She now has to be on a drug that can only be given through IV to support the function of her right heart . On November 15th, after having a cardio catheter performed, it was determined that she would need to be immediately placed on the transplant list.

As you can imagine there is an exorbitant amount of cost and care that will need to go into such a surgery. We are asking for donations to help absorb all the financial needs that will come with this life altering surgery. Please join us in supporting our daughter as she goes through this process and in her recovery.

We thank you for reading our story and finding our go fund me page. Any support that you can provide is greatly appreciated. We also ask that you share our story to help bring awareness to the desperate need of organ donation.

Thank you and God Bless
Sheldon and Shilo Doell