Our heart journey begins 2 years into Graham’s life. Around June of 2021, Graham started complaining of his belly hurting. After a family hiking trip to West Virginia in July of 2021, he rapidly fell ill. We took him to urgicare where the doctors (thankfully) ordered an X-Ray. They discovered his heart was bigger than expected. After a flurry of blood tests at our local hospital, they transferred him to Cardinal Glennon in St. Louis where at 2:00 AM, we were told Graham had dilated cardiomyopathy, a type of heart failure. Graham was in-patient at Cardinal Glennon for 6 weeks as they gave him IV medicines to improve the function of his heart. The doctors think his cardiomyopathy may have been caused by a virus, but in most cases, they may never truly know.

After being discharged, Graham was thriving at home on oral medications. He started school at Ms. Rubye’s Play Place and was living his best toddler life. Common viruses knocked him down, though, causing us to return to the hospital a couple of times to get him rehydrated. Through it all, his heart function looked good.

In June 2022, we took our much-anticipated trip to Disney World where Graham got to FINALLY meet Mickey. It was magical. Unfortunately, he fell ill several days into our trip. After being transferred between Orlando hospitals, we found out that Graham’s heart function was dangerously low. They flew us back to St. Louis as soon as possible where Graham’s condition continued to worsen. He was placed on a ventilator, then ECMO as his heart struggled to keep up with the demands on his body. He now has a BiVAD that is supporting his circulation, taking the load off of his heart.

We will be in the hospital until he receives a heart transplant. Receiving a heart transplant is heavy – another family has to endure an unthinkable tragedy. We continue to pray for all organ donors and families, as it is a true gift of life.

We have partnered with the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) for assistance with transplant-related expenses. Please consider donating to COTA in honor of Graham.

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.