HEALING DREW'S HEART FOUNDATION

drew's Story

The WHY behind our mission

In May 2017 Drew was at his senior walk out event at our local high school. He had just recovered from a mysterious illness when he suddenly began to go downhill. Drew could barely walk out of school one last time and had no desire to say goodbye to the friends he had since kindergarten. As his mom I knew this wasn't like him at all. Drew was the life of the party and well liked and admired by his peers, classmates and teachers. Later that night God spoke to me and told me to get Drew to a doctors as soon as he woke up. Drew never slept that night and continued to decline right next to my bed in a recliner chair. While at the urgent care the next day it was determined that Drew's heart was enlarged and he needed to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. We thought he would just require some antibiotics and would be home in no time. His graduation was coming up and we wanted him better in time for that. We had no idea the journey our family was about to be on. It was discovered that Drew was very sick and was admitted to the hospital where he would stay for over 2 weeks. He missed his graduation but the school and hospital staff did a live stream for him so he could hear his name being called surrounded by family, friends, his favorite teacher and an ICU staff. Drew was eventually sent home with a life vest which is an external defibrillator and heart medications. While Drew enjoyed his time at home he also showed signs of distress. His cardiologist advised us to have him checked out at an urgent care thinking he was having adverse reactions to his medications. While at the urgent care Drew's life vest went off shocking his heart into rhythm and causing the doctor to call the paramedics. Drew was rushed by ambulance back to the hospital where he had left just weeks before. He was back in the ICU and things were very scary for all of us. The doctors attempted to put a balloon pump in his heart to help but that was unsuccessful and Drew crashed. That was one of the most scary times in our lives. They whisked Drew away to the operating room where they had to do CPR to keep him alive. He was placed on ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) in a last resort attempt to save his life. Our family waited over 5 hours not knowing if we would ever see our son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend again. The surgery was a success and Drew was admitted to the CVICU where he would be monitored by the most amazing and highly skilled medical professionals. Our lives were suddenly turned upside down in the matter of days. It was almost midnight on a night in June when we had to leave our son in the hands of strangers and find a place to rest our heads. My brother found us a hotel near the hospital and that would be our home for the next several months. We had nothing but the clothes on our backs and the toiletries provided to us by the hotel staff. Our family and friends quickly jumped in to action to provide us meals, pick up our clothes and help us get settled in. Drew did well over the next several days and defied the odds stacked against him. He was switched to BiVAD's which did all the work for his right and left side of his heart. This was a bridge to a heart transplant as Drew's heart had been too damaged to heal on it's own. We knew he would be in the hospital until a heart was found for him. The doctors are some of the best in all the nation and they were dedicated to finding him the most perfect match. The days were long but Drew was determined and he would walk the halls of the CVICU uplifting other patients and winning the hearts of his nurses and specialists. Drew knew right away that he wanted to give back once he was healed. His quote was "Minor setback for a major comeback" and he knew that his story of strength could help someone else in the future. Of course there were times we all questioned why this happened to Drew and to our family. It was very hard to understand how someone young and with so much to live for had to battle so hard to survive. We had to turn our "why's" into "what can we do Lord to honor You?" and "why not us?" This was God's plan for Drew's life and we would live to help others. The idea of Healing Drew's Heart started as a way to help our family financially with the mounting bills we faced from being out of work for so long. The donations went towards our hotel stay, medical bills and to help us get back on our feet. On August 20, 2017 we got the call that a heart was found for Drew and the new heart began beating on August 21, 2017. It was the perfect match and Drew recovered very well. He had some setbacks and had to be reintubated and placed on dialysis for his kidneys but was able to come home in September. Drew's dad had to give up his business to be Drew's caregiver for 1 year post transplant and it is during this time that we decided it was time to start giving back. Drew and his dad, Matt began speaking and advocating for Donate Life and we all began putting together baskets for patients and their families facing long hospital stays. We have been blessed to help several patients so far and we look forward to helping and encouraging many more. When I asked Drew if he wanted to change the name of our foundation he said no that his heart is still "healing" and by doing God's calling his heart will continue to heal. We are forever grateful to the family who made the decision to donate their loved ones organs during such a difficult time. We are also very thankful for all the medical professionals who cared for Drew and for everyone who supported us and prayed for us along this journey. Giving back is a small way for us to show our appreciation for all the kindness and love that was shown to us over the past several years as we as a family work to heal our hearts. "Trust in the LORD and do good." Psalm 37:3

Please click the link below and join our Healing Drews Heart Foundation Inc Facebook page for updates on what's going on with fun fundraising events and updates on the families we have helped and are going to help. We couldn't do this without the help of all our amazing supporters and donors. Thank you ALL!!

Ways to donate

Monetary Donation or Amazon Wish List

Please click the Donate Now link below to make a Monetary Donation to support our Gifts from the Heart Baskets and the other ways we help individuals and families who need our help. You can also click on the Amazon Link below to see our Amazon wish list where you will find items we need to fill our baskets. We couldn't do this without the help of all our amazing supporters and donors. Thank you ALL!!