Aspen's Heart Fund

Britney Blomquist and Perry Ford recently found out that their unborn daughter, Aspen, is suffering from a congenital disorder known as Fetal Aortic Stenosis at 32 weeks gestation. At this tender stage of development, baby Aspen is undergoing rapid growth and change requiring ample amounts of blood and oxygen to fuel her tissues. Diagnoses by specialists show that her heart is not able to pump oxygenated blood effectively to her brain and body, hindering development in both. They also say it is extremely risky for her to survive outside of the womb at 32 weeks.


Given the uncommon nature of this defect, there are only two hospitals in the nation that have the expertise to potentially help baby Aspen. Britney was able to get consults with neonatal heart specialists in both Boston and San Francisco, and found out that they are candidates for a 'balloon procedure' in Boston at Boston Children's Hospital. With this procedure, surgeons insert a balloon into Aspen's aortic valve to open it up and increase blood flow. You can read up about the balloon procedure here . This surgery is done "in utero" in order to keep Aspen from being delivered too early which would have its own set of challenges.

News of this disorder has come as a shock to Britney and Perry since all evaluations and tests up to this point have been normal. They are experiencing a wide range of emotions but seized the opportunity to see if the balloon procedure will save Aspen's life in the short term. Long term, she may face additonal surgeries and rehabilitation.

Britney and Perry flew to Boston today (1/11/17) for a surgical consultation on Thursday (1/12) and she will have the surgery Friday (1/13).  Please send your positive thoughts and prayers their way and thank you very much for your support.  We'll continue to post updates here.