Trips to Columbia in March

Asking for Thoughts and Prayers

What a difference a day makes.

Tuesday night was an amazing night of fun as Matthew and the boys attended the Harlem Globetrotters game at Western Connecticut State University to celebrate a very dear friends birthday.  It was a late night and Matthew was tired and not feeling great but he still had an amazing time.

Letting him sleep in Wednesday morning, he continued to deteriorate.   After many phone calls and an in office consultation with Dr. Snyder we were on our way to Columbia Emergency room at 5:00 am this morning.  He will be admitted but unsure if we will go to the cardiac floor or ICU.  His oxygen levels went down to 70 overnight which is very low.  His numbers are coming up slowly but he is still not close to where he should be.

He is on a CPAP machine to help with his oxygen levels and is resting but more needs to be done to ensure everything is functioning as it should be.

Just keep Marie and Matthew in your thoughts and prayers as they wait for more news.

Matthew Update for March 30th, 2015

Hi everyone!  Just wanted to give you a quick update.

Matthew is still in ICU and it is going to be a very slow recovery.  They will know mid-week if he will be home for Easter.  He is still on the CPAP which is supporting his breathing and his oxygen levels are in the low 90's which is not great.  He had a fever last night although his appetite improved.  He tires very easily.  He may go home on oxygen but we will know more soon. 

His brothers Michael and Ryan visited yesterday and they just life his spirits like no one else can.  It is so special.  Just keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  Not out of the woods quite yet.  Thank you again!

Matthew Update & Thanks For Your Thoughts & Prayers

First and foremost, thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.  Matthew and Marie feel them and are so grateful.  She truly believes they are helping to move things in the right direction. 

It was up and down yesterday for Matthew.  Finally, his oxygen levels dropped back down into the 70's so they were moved up into ICU. 

Matthew will be in ICU for a few days. They have identified the issue as pneumonia.  They are keeping a close eye on him and he is resting and sleeping today. His numbers are going up but they want to take it slow and steady until they are sure he is strong enough.

Matthew is very fortunate to be surrounded by some truly amazing people - friends, family, doctors.  Thank you everyone for everything you are doing!

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day With Matthew

It was a great St. Patrick's Day this year for us.  Matthew was with his friends in school enjoying the holiday festivities!  Matthew's mom Marie, who is from Ireland, was able to spend an hour with his Kindergarten class reading a book about Leprechauns, taking them on a treasure hunt throughout the school, and eating Irish Soda Bread.  Marie even pulled out her accordion and played some Irish tunes while the kids danced.  Fun was had by all and we are thankful for these small little celebrations that we can share with him.

We are still working on getting his numbers where they need to be but he is happy and thriving and that is all that we can ask for.

How Many Pillows Did We Stuff?

It has been an unbelievable few weeks for Matthew's Hearts of Hope.  We had 5 different pillow projects totaling 984 pillows stuffed with poly-fill, love and a little hope one child to another!  We would like to thank . . .

• JFK Elementary School in Brewster - 274 pillows
• Washington Boys and Girls Scouts - 200 pillows
• Sherman School - 435 pillows
• Kids Care Club in New Fairfield - 25 pillows
• St. Francis Xavier 5th Grade Religious Education Class - 50 pillows

We would also like to thank Fairfield Processing for donating the poly-fill, Clothing Labels 4u for the tags, JoAnn Fabric for the discounted fabric and lastly all the cutters, pre sewers and sewers who helped behind the scenes before, during and after all the pillow projects.  We could not have done it without you!

Our friend Allison Heffer is a Child Life Specialist on the cardiac floor at Children's Hospital of New York and sees the pediatric heart patients when they come down from ICU.  Here is what she had to say about how important the pillows are for these patients:  “They are a God-Sent to the kids in the hospital. They bring a smile to their faces and they help their recovery process go faster.”

So, they are more than just pillows!  Thank you to everyone.
 

Exciting News  - Babies Heart Fund Gala

Marie and Mike Hatcher were cordially invited to the Babies Heart Fund Gala on March 5th in New York at the Pierre Hotel.  To be in a room with leading experts and advocates for CHD research is an honor in and of itself.  However, it was exciting to find out that the Babies Heart Fund chose to further fund the project started by Dr. Fraint and Dr. Chelliah because of it’s proven impact in the planning of surgery for complex CHD babies and children- the same project that Matthew's Hearts of Hope funded and helped to get off the ground a year prior.  We were so happy for Columbia and felt proud that it all started with a small grant from our organization.

Impact is the goal for most nonprofit organizations.  In this case, we are overwhelmed at the impact that our little organization was able to make and to see the ripple effect it has made in the world of CHD.  And, without your support it would not have happened.  So, thank you so much for all of your support!

Left to right,  Mike Hatcher, Dr. Emile Bacha, Dr. Michael Snyder, Dr. Hannah Fraint, Todd Pietila from Materialize and Marie Hatcher.