Help Harriet’s Heart

Hi! We are Josh and Hannah Kendrick. We have been married for 8 years and finally decided to expand our family. Currently I, Hannah of course, am pregnant with our first child who we’ve named Harriet. We have been so excited to welcome Harriet to our family. But on Wednesday, January 12 everything changed. We received a call that there were abnormalities on Harriet’s ultrasound. We were sent to a specialist an hour away where they confirmed that Harriet has a cardiac teratoma. This is a very rare tumor that has only been seen in the United States less than ten times. We were further referred to a clinic in Minneapolis, 4.5 hours from home.

At the clinic in Minneapolis they informed us that at some point we will be having an open fetal surgery, depending on the growth of the tumor. This particular surgery has only been performed successfully twice before. Our goal is to make it three times. If the tumor holds off growing too much until 28 weeks they can then perform the surgery. Ideally, we make it to 34 or 35 weeks at which point they would perform both a cesarean and the tumor removal. Until then we are driving to Minneapolis every Monday and Des Moines every Thursday for ultrasounds and fetal echocardiograms. This is a lot of travel for us and my Josh will be cutting back on his work hours. I am very lucky for an understanding employer who will be allowing me to teach virtually for the rest of the year.

Once Harriet is born there will be no shortage of financial help. However, between now and that time there is a lack of help for travel expenses. Many friends have asked how they can help. We would be grateful for any help we can receive. While we don’t like to ask for “handouts” but now is a time for us to swallow our pride and focus on keeping Harriet healthy and bringing her into this world. Thank you to everyone who is supporting us, in more ways than just financially. We are truly blessed with wonderful friends and family.