Our Little Warrior - Help Cillian Fight HLHS

On October 19th, Sam and Brynne Bish went in for their 20 week anatomy scan. It started out great with the tech confirming what she saw was good. When she got to the heart though, she was silent.

“Are you guys wanting to find out the gender?” When they said yes she told them they were having a boy! She finished up and said the doctor was going to come in shortly. In that moment they were thrilled. Sam and Brynne had been talking about possible baby names and with all the confidence, Sam said “I think we should name him Cillian.” They loved the name, but the meaning even more which means “little warrior.”

The doctor came in and immediately delivered the news that Cillian has something called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) where the left ventricle is severely underdeveloped. Despite the lack of information, they gathered it was serious since he said “can you both clear your schedules today for some specialists?”

There is no cure for HLHS, but what they can do is reconstruct the heart through several open heart surgeries. The first surgery will be performed a few days after birth, the second 2-3 months after birth, and the third at ages 2-3 years old. The recovery is intense in each stage requiring extensive NICU stays.

But as we know, and luckily for us, God never fails and is always by our side. In this time, we rest on what we KNOW. We know the Lord is good, even through this fear. We know He has a purpose. We know Cillian was named “little warrior” before we even heard this news for a reason. We know the Lord will not abandon but show us His powerful hand in these dark days and the days to come. We know that through these trials the Lord reveals himself and his glory, and we are excited to see that unfold. We know these things.

Sam and Brynne have weighed their options and have decided that a move to Boston is the best course of action. Boston Children's is the number 2 ranked hospital in the country for these cases. The cost for these life-saving surgeries is high. Funds raised here will help them with the surgeries, moving costs, and medical care after Cillian is born.

In closing, we leave you with the words of a song that the Bish's have adopted as their anthem in this season:

My hope is built on nothing less,

than Jesus' blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

When darkness veils his lovely face

I rest on His unchanging grace.

In every high and stormy gale,

my anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant,

His blood supports me in the ‘whelming flood.

When all around my soul gives way,

He then is ALL my hope and stay.

When he shall come with trumpet sound,

oh may I then in Him be found

dressed in His righteousness alone,

faultless stand before the throne.

On Christ the solid rock I stand.

All other ground is sinking sand.

All other ground is sinking sand.

In His name,

The Willis Family