Join Gwendolyn's Fight for a Second Heart Transplant

Friends, family, supporters, community - April is National Donate Life Month, and this is sweet Gwendolyn's story.

I am starting this GoFundMe on behalf of a childhood friend Abbie and her sweet daughter, Gwendolyn. Gwen was born with half of a heart, a condition known as hypoplastic right heart syndrome. She spent a large part of her first year of life in Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, where she underwent multiple surgeries and eventually a heart transplant at only 4 months old. Her new heart has allowed her to live a relatively "normal" life as a carefree child for the past 7 years. She is a first grader, loves Sonic the Hedgehog, and her siblings Lily and Harrison.

Gwen's parents, Abbie and Glenn, became pregnant with their son Revan this past year. Unfortunately, towards the end of Abbie's pregnancy, Gwen suffered a rapid decline in her heart function. For the past 8 weeks, she has been admitted to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh for heart failure, with many other complications including inability to eat or drink, belly pain and stomach ulcers, as well as kidney failure.

April is National Donate Life Month - and as of April 1st, Gwen has officially been listed for a second heart transplant. She is priority 1A, making her a high priority for getting a new heart. She will remain in the hospital with her feeding tube, dialysis, and multiple IV medications to keep her stable until she is able to receive this second transplant.

The week after Gwen was listed for transplant, Abbie and Glenn welcomed their new baby son Revan on 4/9/24. As elated as they are for this joyous new arrival, you can imagine the financial and emotional toll this has taken on their family. Abbie and Glenn, as well as their other children, live approximately 2 hours away from Pittsburgh where Gwen is hospitalized. Abbie is now off work on maternity leave caring for Revan, but will soon be traveling to and from Pittsburgh with their newborn son to be with Gwen.

The family is anticipating many months of unpaid leave to care for Gwen during the time she waits for her transplant as well as the many months of recovery afterwards. It is unclear whether either or both parents will be able to return to work, so the foreseeable future will come without excess costs of traveling, living expenses, and loss of income.

Please consider donating to help support this sweet family during this unimaginably challenging time. Thank you kindly, from the bottom of my heart.