Our Letters of Hope

In 2008, just three short weeks before Elisha and Adam Froetschner were happily anticipating the birth of their second child, they learned news that would change their lives forever: their son had Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), a rare and serious heart condidtion where the left side of the heart does not develop properly, HLHS occurs in about 1 out of every 5,000 babies born and about 1,000 babies are born with HLHS each year in the United States alone. Without treatment, babies with HLHS do not survive. With the surgeries Porter is receiving, the most is being made of his heart and no one knows how many years his heart will last.

Elisha and Adam were sent to the University of Michigian, where Porter was born and would spend the first six weeks of his life. He would need a series of three open-heart surgeries and would begin fighting for his life. They were told to get ready for the biggest emotional roller coaster of their lives and a roller coaster it was. Read Porter's story as told by his mom, Elisha, at http://www.carepages.com/carepages/BabyBoyFroetschner.

At seven days old, Porter successfully went throught his first ipen heart surgery. Three days later when the doctors tried to close his ches, his heart stopped and he was put on life support for four days. We then decided to take him off and see what would happen. Thankfully, he began breathing on his own. When Porter was six weeks old we carried him out of the hospital, sitll very critical, but ready to go home to Kansas until the second surgery.

At three months old, Porter needed to have the second surgery, this was sooner than expected. We returned to Ann Arbor for the procedure and Porter proved yet again he had the will to live and we went home just seven days later.

Today, Porter is a normal little boy who brings joy, hope and strength to people that we have never met: he is a role model to families that are preparing for the birth of their child who has HLHS.

Porter will have one more surgery around the age of two. While this will not cure HLHS, it does give him more time with us and with other families. We look for the joy in everyday situations, because one day Porter will be gone and the only thing we will have to hold on to is that joy and our memories.

You can support HLHS research at the University of Michigian in hopes that one day there will be a life-long cure for this grave heart defect by purchasing a "Porter" bag. Order one at www.bagolitas.com/elishafroetschner, choose a size you like and click on "Porter."