Evan Strauss -Heart Warrior- & Family

No words of mine can describe what this family has been going through. They are not the type of people to ask for help...so, family and friends wanted to do it for them.

Please see the post below made by his father recently. It's long but well worth the read:

"Well, here goes. We were handed the worst news we could have gotten yesterday. Besides the news of Coronary Artery Disease, it was more along in progression than we first were told. I can't even begin to express my feelings. I'm broken, my family is broken. Evan is, happy as a clam, because he doesn't know. We are beginning to process to re-enlist him on the transplant list as this is really the only option we have. They are starting him on a trial medicine that can slow the progression, but again, it's trial, so who knows if it will work. There is no cure for this, only progression management. I can't look at my son and tell him the last 4 years, the long ass hospital stays, the hundreds of needle sticks, the drugs, are essentially all for nothing now. This is the biggest lie I will ever have to tell him that everything will be OK. I can barely look at my own family without feeling guilt over them having to go through this too.

This will be the hardest decision myself and my wife will ever have to make. IF he gets listed because we don't even know if he is eligible because of his history, and he is able to get a heart, will we accept it or just let life take its course. I don't know if we can put him through this again. He may reject it again and we could just be back in the same boat we were in 4 years ago. It's not fair to him, none of this is fair. I don't want to eat. I can't sleep. It's nearly impossible to get through an hour without having a emotional breakdown but having to hold it in so he can't see. This just seems so unreal, like the worst nightmare imaginable.

My family lost my dad 5 years ago and I thought that was the worst pain imaginable. 3 months later Evan had his valve surgery and stroke shortly after. 6 months ago my mom died. Again, I thought that was the worst. Now here we are. It has been a rough 5 years for everyone. Hell, even our 2 hamsters have died in the last 3 weeks. I always knew the endgame with this process, but I never expected it to be this soon. I feel like a zombie, emotionless and just wandering through the day with no purpose. I don't know what to do, what to say, how to continue really. Every time I look at him I think there is no way I can just let this disease take him this soon, we will fight. But then with every blood draw, monitor alarm, day spent in the hospital, and what the unknown future holds with another transplant, makes me lean the other way.

Everyone keeps asking what they can do. I don't know. I need a roofer to fix my roof. I need someone to move my school closer so I can continue my classes instead of driving to Dayton 3 times a week. Someone can work my job so we have 2 incomes. Someone could talk to God and ask him what the fuck man. Someone can keep an eye on my wife also, make sure she's making it since she has to work this time around and I am stuck in this prison. If anyone could bring my parents back for even a day so I can ask them what the hell to do, please do. Most importantly, after I'm exhausted from trying to be strong and trying to hold everyone else up and keep everything together, please pick up my pieces when I crumble, it will happen soon. If you want to text or message, please keep it simple, we don't have many answers to the hundreds of questions.

On a positive, he doesn't have to have surgery to get chest tubes today for fluid overload. His diuretics are working to get the excess weight and fluid out. He is back down to his near admission weight, losing 3 lbs just yesterday alone."

Any help you can offer is so very appreciated!