COTA for August's Hope

Our Story

The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the nation’s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children and young adults. 100% of each contribution made to COTA in honor of our patients helps meet transplant-related expenses. COTA’s services are free to our families, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

August’s Story:

Born December 8th, 2021 August was living a normal, healthy, loving life. He continued on this path for the first 12 days of his life. On December 20th at 13 days old, August became unresponsive, pale, limp and eventually stopped breathing. He was rushed to urgent care by his mother, who were then both life-flighted to Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital. They were able to revive August with seconds to spare.

That day he was taken through many tests and put on a ventilator with a lot of tubes and wires in him. August’s Cardiologist informed us that he had the worst heart defect she has seen in her practice and his life would look very different from here on out. The Doctor informed us that he would be going through many open heart surgeries and that he is also immunocompromised for life because he is missing his spleen.

On Christmas Eve August’s ventilator came out and he was successfully breathing on his own. His mother, Hannah was able to hold him again on Christmas day. Before this he was having hourly episodes of him freaking out and his heart rate dramatically dropping. His “SAT” dropped into the 30s one of the episodes.

Home for another week until he needed to be airlifted to Vanderbilt for the second time. They were able to stable him out and he was able to come home shprtly after. 

August remained home until his heart surgery on June 8th. Initially August’s heart surgery was a success. Although, a few hours into his recovery he began having complications. The doctors had to preform emergency surgery and open August’s chest again. He remained open in his room for a few days to relieve the pressure the was causing complications from his surgery. 

They were able to close August’s chest up on June 13th. The tests that were run following have given us bad news and what looked like improvement on the outside is not reflecting that on the inside.

August was then put on the heart transplant list and was matched with a heart on July 17th! The surgery was successful and now we are on the long road for recovery. 

Update August 1, 2022 – August is recovering so well. We are so grateful for the amount of prayers and support. We cherish each and every message and prayer. Thank you!

Any donations to COTA will help the family with living expenses since they have been needing to stay in a rental home near the hospital as well as hospital stays and fees. 

Please see blog posts for updates.

Thank you