Cody's Heart ❤️

Dear Friends and Family. I'm fundraising on behalf of my nephew Cody and his family to help cover his extensive medical care and long-term hospital stay. Cody was born at 33 weeks gestation and has completely stolen the hearts of our family and his nursing staff. Since his birth, his home has been at our local hospital, where he's received excellent care and has been able to spend a lot of time with his Mom and Dad.

Recently, the cardiology team found that Cody has TAPVR (Total anomalous pulmonary venous return). TAPVR is a birth defect of the heart. In a baby with TAPVR, oxygen-rich blood does not return from the lungs to the left atrium. Instead, the oxygen-rich blood returns to the right side of the heart. Here, oxygen-rich blood mixes with oxygen-poor blood. Fixing this will require open heart surgery in Boston when Cody has gained enough weight. The hope was for him to stay close to home during this process, but other serious medical concerns have arisen.

Cody has now been diagnosed with a PDA (patent ductus arteriosus). PDA occurs when the opening between the aorta (the artery that carries oxygen-rich blood to the body) and the pulmonary artery (the artery that carries oxygen-poor blood to the lungs) does not close as it should. It affects the way blood flows through the baby’s lungs. Multiple attempts to close Cody’s PDA with medication have been unsuccessful. Because Cody's oxygen levels have been dropping to dangerously low levels, his care team has begun planning his transition to Boston earlier than expected. There he will go into surgery to close his PDA, and receive the critical care he needs while he recovers and awaits his next surgery.

Please consider supporting Cody and his family during this time. It is my hope that Cody’s parents can stay with him as much as possible during his time away from home.