When our son, Landon, was born, he appeared to be healthy. A few days later, the doctor was concerned because Landon had a congenital heart murmur that had not cleared. Later, a cardiac team found that Landon was born with a critical birth defect called Tetralogy of Fallot (TETS) and that he needed open-heart surgery. Worrying about his heart being taken out of his body and put back in during surgery was terrifying!
“When the doctor told me they would be taking my 6-month-old baby’s heart out of his body, place it on a table to do work on it, and then put it back into his body, I immediately started to panic.”
Though Landon’s dad was a long-term employee and had group insurance, we knew it would not cover enough of the medical expenses. Again, the panic set in. The worry of how we could possibly pay for it all was simply overwhelming.
“Again, the panic set in. The worry of how we could possibly pay for it all was simply overwhelming.”
Thankfully, I was put in touch with the Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC). They told me not to worry about any additional expenses and that everything would be taken care of. My worries about where we were going to stay, money for food, and transportation while Landon was getting his medical needs met, were all put to rest. RMHC provided me the opportunity to have my only worry be for my baby.
Landon’s heart surgery was successful, and being able to focus on his recovery instead of outstanding medical expenses, was an additional blessing.
Now, 10 years later, Landon seems like the average, active, sport-loving, 10-year-old boy, but he needs a heart valve replacement, which is another open-heart surgery. This next surgery will be more extensive as his pain receptors are now developed and will cause much more pain than his first surgery. Although this surgery distresses us to think about, we know that reaching out to RMHC, when needed will again help us overcome the financial burden caused by doing what is best for our son.
“Landon not only has an enlarged heart–but also an enlarged amount of love in his heart.”
Landon is a boy with not only an enlarged heart but also an enlarged amount of love and compassion that he holds in his tender heart for others. He has recently become an advocate to raise money to help other children with heart conditions and loves the rewarding feeling he gets when donating to those in need.
It is our hope that Landon’s story of courage and generosity can inspire others to give to those in need. We are happy to support CharityRx® in their efforts to provide donations to RMHC. These donations will enable other families like ours to have hope and comfort during their child’s medical crisis.
Every time you use the CharityRx Card to save money on a prescription, we will donate to a charity to help children like Landon.
