Heart Transplant Hope: Support For Lincoln and Family

On February 13th, Mike and Ashley rushed Lincoln to the CT Children’s emergency room due to his sudden onset of shortness of breath, lethargy, and rapid heart rate. After a chest x-ray, doctors discovered Lincoln had an extremely enlarged heart and diagnosed him with dilated cardiomyopathy. He spent two days at CT Children’s and was progressively getting worse. The decision was made to transfer Lincoln to Boston Children’s hospital on February 15 by Boston's Critical Care Transport Team. Lincoln spent weeks receiving different IV medications, tests, and procedures. The team felt like he was stable enough to go home on March 9 with weekly follow ups in Boston. Lincoln got to spend 6 weeks at home with his mom, dad, sister and his dog, going on as many adventures as his condition allowed. However on April 24 Lincoln readmitted to Boston Children’s hospital due to his deteriorating heart condition.

Doctors determined that Lincoln’s heart is too sick to recover on its own and he will require a heart transplant. They will potentially have to wait a year for a heart to become available. Lincoln will have to stay at Boston Children’s Hospital during this time. He was scheduled to have a Berlin Heart placed on April 29, which will help keep him stable while he waits for a new heart to become available. Lincoln’s heart continued to get sicker and he was unexpectedly intubated on April 28, and later that day had to be placed on ECMO. The hope is that this can support him in order to let his heart and his little body rest so they can move forward with the Berlin Heart surgery. Lincoln is fighting so hard everyday to overcome each obstacle that’s being thrown at him. We are all are so proud of him.

Ashley has worked as a nurse at Middlesex Health for the last 9 years. She has resigned so she can stay with Lincoln in Boston throughout this process. Mike will take time off as needed but will continue to work in CT to maintain health insurance. Hailey has been such a light through all of this and continues to brighten each day. Mike and Hailey will spend as much time in Boston as possible so they can all be together as a family. They are currently working to secure long-term housing for the duration of Lincoln’s hospital stay. This unexpected journey has turned their lives upside down, and they appreciate any support for housing, food, gas, and medical bills during this difficult time.