Silas Dane Nicholas Smith

My close friends, Tricia and Christian Smith, are expecting a baby boy very soon! My heart goes out to them because what should be a time of hope and joy in their lives is going to be a time of immense uncertainty for their family and it will be filled with many trials and tribulations. And rather than throwing them a traditional baby shower where they would receive gifts to prepare for their little one, I know what they are most in need of right now is money for the necessities as they navigate the journey ahead.

Silas Dane Nicholas Smith, due July 2025, has Pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PA/IVS) meaning the pulmonary valve is closed so blood cannot move from the right side of the heart to the lungs. It’s a severe case.

There are two options for treatment:

1) A heart transplant after birth (they’ll keep him alive to the best of their ability by other means until he can get one from the estimated 10 month waiting list.

2) A series of 3 surgeries, and then an eventual heart transplant when he’s older. There would be an immediate surgery upon birth (implanting a stent with 90% survival rate and about a month in the hospital), another surgery at 4-6 months (called Glenn surgery with 85% survival rate and a couple weeks in the hospital) and a third surgery at 2-3 years (called Fontan surgery with 80% survival rate and about a week or less in the hospital). Then a heart transplant down the line, depending on when he’ll need it, but likely teenage-going adult years.

They'll know which option is best for him after he's born and they do more tests.

Heart transplants last around 10-15 years, so he’d have to have several throughout his life. They weren’t given a lot of info about how many he can have, but after each one your body develops antibodies and is less likely to accept a new heart.

His life expectancy is lower than an average person, but there’s no definite age that can be determined.

Tricia will be induced on July 7th because stillbirth is a concern if we wait for natural labor.

Tricia and Christian already have 3 children that they are trying to figure out childcare for and to make matters worse, Christian gets no paternity leave through his job.

Tricia and Christian are good people with strong faith. Many people in their shoes would have lost their faith by now. But somehow they carry on. No one wants to have to rely on others for help, but we have all been there before or will be at one point or another. I hope you are able to feel compassion for their situation and help in any way you are able.