COTA for Warrior Archer

Our Story

Archer came into our lives in May 2024. He opted for a sunroof entrance into the world as he had turned breech at 39 weeks. He has always had such a fun personality as he loves to laugh and smile and play with anyone who gives him attention. He is a people watcher and extremely observant of everything going on around him. He’s our little FOMO baby and doesn’t ever want to miss out on anything.

Life was fairly normal until he was about 5 months old. He started being really fussy, and having a super upset stomach, which gradually led to him eating very little, not acting like himself, and losing weight. For two months, we were taking him to his pediatrician, thinking it was all GI related, doing dairy-free feedings, and eventually treating him for C. diff. (which was the only positive test result we had gotten).

When the antibiotics for that didn’t work, and we took him to his follow up appointment, his doctor had the thought to order a chest x-ray, just to rule out any lung or heart issues. When they got the results back that night, December 23, they found his heart was extremely dilated and his pediatrician recommended we go up to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. We packed our bags and left within the hour. 

The whole drive up to Salt Lake seemed to take an eternity. When we got there, they did many tests and scans to figure out what caused his dilated cardiomyopathy and how bad it was. They found that his heart was only working at about 20% capacity (normal function is around 70-80%). However, even with this drastically reduced function, miraculously, his other organs were still fully functional. They also found that despite us not being aware of any family history of cardiomyopathy, he carried the genetic marker for this specific heart condition and would need a heart transplant. He would also need a VAD (ventricular assist device) to help his body get the blood circulation it needs while he waits for a heart gift. 

So Archer’s first Christmas was spent in the hospital. Fortunately, all of this happened while I was on winter break. Unfortunately, life still moves on outside of the hospital. Archer had his first open heart surgery on January 6, 2025, and had many friends and family praying for him through it all, and afterward as well. I took off the first week back from Christmas break, and Kory’s boss was incredibly thoughtful and flexible as he let Kory take off some time to be up here with Archer as well. 

We stayed up for the rest of that week as he recovered and they put in the order for him to move out of the ICU and into the Cardiac unit. He was officially listed 1A on the transplant list (which is highest priority) but we were told the waiting time for a heart would be six months to a year… or more. During this time Archer has to remain in the hospital and we are coordinating schedules to make sure that someone is always up here with him. 

He is a brave little trooper as he’s had labs drawn, gotten immunizations, and endured dressing changes, which are his least favorite. He has a long road ahead of him where he will stay at Primary Children’s until he receives a heart. For several months afterward he will need to stay in the Salt Lake Valley, within a close radius of the hospital as they would continue to monitor him and his heart.

We have been incredibly blessed with so many caring family and friends throughout the start of this journey. So many have reached out with words of encouragement, and there have been countless thoughts and prayers for our little guy. Many have also asked in what ways they can help during this time—if you are able, please consider donating to COTA for Warrior Archer. COTA will help us cover the many transplant-related expenses that will come throughout this journey. Any donation amount to COTA for Warrior Archer is greatly appreciated and will help to ease the financial burden as our lives will have to undergo changes and adjustments to allow us to meet the needs of Archer pre- and post-transplant.

Thank you again, from the bottom of our hearts. There are no words to express our deeply felt gratitude for all the outpouring of love and support during this difficult time. We have truly felt it carry us through some of the hardest days we’ve ever experienced. We love you all! ❤️

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.