Healing Leyla's Heart

I am lucky to call Leyla my niece, and little Leyla and her family could use our help right now.

Leyla and Sawyer were born prematurely four years ago. After Leyla's one-month NICU stay, the twins both got to go home with their parents Mackenzie and Isaiah, together for the first time. Since then, Leyla has always struggled with her breathing, but her parents were both assured that it was only asthma and have been treating her for such since then.

Recently Leyla has been struggling more and the family decided to seek another doctor’s opinion. This doctor immediately sent Leyla for X-Rays, EKG, and ultrasounds on her heart. He indicated that she was showing signs of heart-related problems and believed that this could be mimicking symptoms of asthma.

The family received the results of these tests and were immediately sent to Saskatoon’s Children’s hospital to meet a cardiologist team, have a CT scan, and complete a treatment plan. It was here that they received the diagnosis that Leyla had what is called a Double Aortic Arch Vascular Ring. Her aorta, the artery responsible for carrying blood from her heart to the rest of her body, has split into two and wrapped itself around her esophagus/trachea; thus, compressing her airway and causing her breathing issues.

All of the Cardiologists in Western Canada were briefed on Leyla’s diagnosis due to how rare it is. Mackenzie and Isaiah received news after their meeting that the only treatment option is heart surgery. She has been made a priority and they expect to get a surgery date soon for some time in the next 6 weeks.

While grateful that her situation is being taken seriously and the doctors are doing everything they can as fast as they can, the family is now in a situation they were not financially ready for. Leyla’s mom, Mackenzie, currently works full time as a fitness trainer. Leyla’s dad, Isaiah, was in a car accident in 2020 which has left him unable to work and he is currently still recovering from his own surgery he had on his shoulder a few months ago.

They will need to be in Edmonton, where Leyla’s heart surgery will be performed, before and after the surgery takes place. While the timeframe is still unknown, they will be spending a minimum of around 10-15 days in Edmonton and have been advised to prepare to be responsible for accommodations, meals, travel, ambulance bills and daily parking for that time period, on top of the time Mackenzie will have to take off work while this all occurs. While they hope that they may secure at least some of these nights at the Ronald McDonald house, RMH has indicated that they cannot guarantee them a spot and would not confirm more than 1-2 days prior. As this surgery is such short notice, and is extremely important, Mackenzie and Isaiah are currently preparing to pay all of these fees on their own to ensure there is no delay in the surgery.

Due to the importance of eliminating any risk of infections, Leyla will need to have any dental work that could cause issues after surgery dealt with in the next couple of weeks. They are currently looking at nearly a thousand dollars in dental work for this as they do not currently have any dental coverage.

While the family continues to look into possible charities/fundraising they can do, please consider donating to this GoFundMe that has been created for them. Both Mackenzie and Isaiah have had what one could only call a series of unfortunate events these past few years, but that has never stopped them from lending a helping hand and keeping a smile on their faces.

Thank you for reading this, and please know that a little girl and her family will be more than appreciative of any support they may receive, whether it be a donation if you can or just leaving words of encouragement for Leyla. She has been strong and brave during her hospital visits, bloodwork, and testing.