Dean and Sheri Waddell's third son, Killian, was born Sept. 4, a beautiful, chubby-cheeked little guy weighing six pounds, 12 ounces.
But Killian, the younger brother to Ryker, 4, and Malick, 2, was born with a heart condition which, it turns out, can't be fixed through surgery. He requires a heart transplant.
In June, the couple found out through an ultrasound at Toronto's Sunnybrook hospital that the fetus had an enlarged right ventricle wall in his heart.
At Toronto's Sick Kids Hospital, they received a diagnosis of hypoplastic right heart syndrome with pulmonary artesia. “He basically won't oxygenate the blood on his own,” said Dean.
So the parents were given a choice between palliative care, a transplant or three surgeries to bypass the right side of the heart.
“We were kind of going down the road of hopefully doing the surgeries, but after further investigation with a procedure after he was born, they found that that's no longer an option, so we've had to go down the transplant option,” Dean said.
“It was pretty hard that he had a serious cardiac issue in the first place, but the transplant news is just that much harder.”
With the surgery option, the family was initially looking at spending a couple of months in Toronto.
But now that it has been determined a transplant is needed, it could be up to a year before an organ is available — it has to be the heart of a small child not too much bigger than Killian.
Then there will be a few months of recovery and follow-ups, requiring Sheri and the baby to stay in Toronto.
The family has been staying at Ronald McDonald House, which Dean, like many other northerners who have accessed this service, says is amazing.
“It's very surprising how much support there is,” he said. “It's a nice place. It's got some nice amenities.”
Ryker recently started school in Sudbury, and has been travelling back and forth to Toronto with Dean and his brother Malick.
But Dean said the family is now considering moving the older boys to Toronto with their mother, given the current situation. There is actually a school run by Ronald McDonald House.
Dean said the family has also been able to access some support through the Northern Health Travel Grant, but he's obviously had to take some time off work, and expenses have been piling up.
His mother, Mary Waddell, set up a GoFundMe campaign Sept. 5, setting a goal of $6,000. But more than twice that amount — more than $14,000 — has been raised.
Dean said the $6,000 goal was really based on the money they'd already spent because of Killian's medical situation.
But he said he doesn't know how much money will be needed, given they'll be in Toronto for such a long period of time.
The crowd funding page said that if there is any money left over after all expenses are paid down, it will be donated to Sick Kids Hospital. Dean said he's touched by everyone's support, financial and otherwise.
“The support is completely unparalleled,” he said.
“We're not really sure how to thank people properly. It's been amazing. We're completely speechless. We're heartbroken at the same time.
“There's people that have reached out that we haven't seen or heard from since high school, or old John Island Camp friends, and family friends. We have a large family in Sudbury and all over Canada.”
If you're interested in contributing to the crowd funding campaign, you can view the GoFundMe page here.
