GoFundMe, local collection set up for family
Vivacious and smiley Elizabeth “Lizzy” Grant, age 10 1/2 months, keeps her parents on their toes while exploring around her Bellefontaine home, cruising furniture and crawling ever faster each day, playing a game trying to “outrun” her mom and dad.
Lizzy lights up around her family and even when meeting people new to her, and she especially loves playing with her stuffed animals and her best friend, her dog, Suki. She is ready to enjoy her first trick-or-treat with her family in the next week, dressed up as the Disney princess Cinderella.
These happy times are treasured by her loved ones, as the courageous youngster has overcome great hurdles in her first days of life. Lizzy had open heart surgery just days after her birth, and now also faces a challenging journey in the upcoming months with congenital heart disease, including a second surgery — an aortic valve transplant— that is needed within the next three to six months.
Fundraisers for the family are taking place locally, with change jars currently located at several downtown Bellefontaine businesses, and a GoFundMe page for Lizzy also has been established at https://gofund.me/b0eb46a0 to help with the financial burden of these procedures.
Lizzy’s mother Alexis Gibson, said at her 20-week ultrasound appointment, her doctors observed heart issues for her baby girl, and initially suspected hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a diagnosis that has since changed. Gibson and her partner Wes Grant welcomed Lizzy into the world Nov. 30, 2021, at the OSU Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.
“I got to see her for a few minutes, and then she was rushed off to Nationwide Children’s Hospital,” said Gibson, a 2017 Bellefontaine High School graduate.
Gibson said Lizzie’s CHD conditions are complex and include a variety of issues, including coarctation of the aorta, aortic valve stenosis, and mitral valve stenosis.
Dec. 8, Lizzy had her open heart surgery at Nationwide Children’s Hopsital, where pieces were cut out of her aorta and replaced. While her surgery was successful, her medical team had to leave her chest open for 24 hours afterward because of respiratory failure.
Thankfully, Lizzy overcame the post-op difficulties that came her way and was discharged not long before Christmas, her mother said. The only medical equipment they needed to welcome home their infant daughter was to have a pulse oximeter on hand.
“That was our big goal, to be home by Christmas, so that meant a lot to us to be home together,” Gibson said.
Since that time, the Bellefontaine family has been at Nationwide Children’s Hospital quite a bit for check-ups with Lizzy’s cardiologist and for another surprise procedure that came up this spring.
Gibson related that she took Lizzy to her regularly scheduled cardiology appointment during April, and her doctors found that Lizzy’s aorta was starting to close up again.
“We just came for an outpatient appointment, but they ended up admitting us to the hospital, and then Lizzy had a balloon catheter procedure the next morning,” Gibson said.
Since then, Lizzy has been trying to live her life like a typical toddler, her mother related.
“She loves putting everything she can find in her mouth, and pulling all the baby wipes out of the box. Her favorite foods are mushed apples with cinnamon, and yogurt bites.
She falls asleep to classic Disney songs.”
During the last month, the family was given the unfortunate news that Lizzy’s heart problems are leading to a second open heart procedure. The increasing severity of her aortic stenosis means that she needs the aortic valve transplant.
Nov. 17, Lizzy has a check-up with her cardiologist, so the family should learn more about the timing of the surgery then.
“With the aortic stenosis getting worse, that is causing diminished blood flow to the rest of her heart,” Gibson said. “The valve replacement should relieve some of the pressure on her heart.”
While trying to mentally prepare for another open heart procedure for Lizzy, her parents have been feeling the financial strain of the mounting medical bills as well.
Gibson said she recently has visited various downtown Bellefontaine businesses regarding the change jars for Lizzy, and has been moved by “all of the very generous support. We are so grateful for our community.”
Grant works at Honda of America Mfg. at Marysville. While Gibson previously was attending Columbus State Community College to be an airplane technician, she was advised by her doctor after her 20-week ultrasound that she would probably want to consider staying home to care for her little girl because of the complex care that might be needed.
“We are currently in the process of signing her up for Disability Income, but as expected, it’s been a very long wait. I am a 23-year-old stay-at-home-mom, therefore Lizzy’s father, my partner, has been our only source of income,” Gibson said via the GoFundMe page.
“We recently bought a new house in Bellefontaine in May, and since then, we’ve struggled to keep up with bills and living costs.
“While Lizzy doesn’t feel the effects of our financial struggles, we sure do. Any help at all from our community and from strangers can be the difference that we’ve been praying for.”
The Bellefontaine couple expressed their deep appreciation to those who have offered their prayers and financial report. Their family has come alongside them as well for support, including Lizzy’s maternal grandparents Verlyn and Rebecca Gibson and paternal grandparents Tony and Susie Grant.