My name is Cindy Arnold and my daughter and son in law, Kara and Perry Stevens, are expecting our first grandbabies....TWINS! One boy, Walt, and one girl, Lumi.

On Monday, March 31st, Kara and Perry went to the doctor for a routine anatomy scan ultrasound at 21 weeks. Everything looked great with Walt and Lumi until the tech got to Walt’s heart. Unfortunately, only the right side of Walt’s heart developed in the womb, and he’s been diagnosed with HLHS. This is a rare but very serious heart defect that would result in death shortly after birth without a series of surgeries. What was once going to be a natural home birth is now going to involve Kara moving to Durham, NC five weeks before her due date to prepare to give birth to Walt and Lumi at Duke, where Walt will be surrounded by some of the top pediatric cardiologists and children’s surgeons in the country. The tentative plan is for him to have his first surgery 5-10 days after birth, his second surgery at 4 months old, and his third around 4 years old. He will likely still need a heart transplant around 20-30 years old.

We trust God’s sovereignty and know He has His hand in this situation and on the babies. Many have asked how to help other than joining us in prayer. In an effort to alleviate some of the financial stress once Perry takes a leave from his new job to be with Kara and the babies and to support their extended out-of-state stay and associated expenses, we have set up a GoFundMe. Most of all, please continue to pray for complete healing for Baby Walt and safety for Baby Lumi and Kara.