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A New Heart for Chase

  • Update!!

      26 July 2024
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    Firstly I want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported us through this , each person who donated here or helped us with a meal or a handwritten card or kind words, you truely got us through our hardest days and kept food on the table for the kids though this.

    We are home!! After 9 months at Starship we have been home a couple of months!

    It’s been harder than I imagined settling back into the real world , it’s absolutely bliss living in our house again but post transplant life is still busy with lots of trips back and forward to Starship and to our local hospital to keep on top of things.

    Chase has been doing school part time 1-2 hours a day to help build up his strength slowly. This has been really challenging for him but I know we will make progress.

    There are still lots of medications, injections, tests, physio and therapy but this is all part of recovery ❤️‍🩹

    Often this feels hard but when I look at where we were a year ago the progress is just phenomenal!

    This is where the real recovery starts!

    Please feel free to follow Chases Facebook page for more frequent updates.

    Again. Our kindest thank you 🙏

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  • Here's where we are now....

      26 February 2024
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    We are nearly 3 months post transplant now. We are still in Auckland for the foreseeable future. We are staying near Starship hospital as we still have blood tests and appointments a few times a week and we are also going over to Wilson centre on the north shore 3x a week for physio and cardiac rehab and short bursts of schooling. Chase is doing really well with his new heart but this part is also very challenging and intense as we work through the rehab and the trauma he’s been through.

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  • Massive News.....

      29 November 2023
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    Chase has a new heart.

    I haven’t posted the date we got the call or date we had surgery out of deep respect for our donor family, whoever they may be.

    Chase spent around 10 hours in surgery as the Berlin needed explanted prior to his new heart, his beautiful, perfect gift is a little large so his chest will remain open for some time so his little body can settle in, he has been recovering well.

    We donated Chases heart valves and tissue for others who may need it and donated Chases heart muscle to a research centre in Australia who research treatments for mitochondrial disorders that affect heart muscle. I hope this gets to make a difference for many peoples lives.

    Please may your kind thoughts, prayers, energy be with our donor family at this time who made the most selfless choice to gift life to another, we promise to forever love and cherish and nurture this heart as much as we do Chase.

    Thank you to our most incredible medical and surgical team. Pic of us as we headed off for surgery, the last pic with his Berlin heart, thank you Berlin heart.

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    • 29/11/2023 by Justin

      Yeah! my main man. Congrats little dude, may you heal up nicely and come back to NZ soon. I wish you good health little dude.

    • 29/11/2023 by Amelia Crawford

      This is the most amazing news! And what a beautiful and sensitive tribute to the donors family. Thinking of you guys as you go through the recovery process, and praying for the an incredible future for Chase and his family. May God bless his precious life 💙💙💙

  • Here's where we're at...

      16 November 2023
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    Thanks again to everyone for their donations and kind words ❤️ Chase has had a very bumpy 3 months, we are now moved from PICU to the ward and settled in for the long haul - we are currently in the throes of renting out our house back home and rehoming our pets which is very hard but Chase is more stable and gaining strength. Please feel free to follow Chases Facebook page for updates and thank you again for your support and kind words, it keeps us going on the hard days

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  • To our supporters

      29 September 2023
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    Thank you so much to everyone who has reached out with donations and kind words. We see you and appreciate you beyond words in this hard time.

    We have been in Starship PICU for over a month now . We have had some very hard and scary days and things are very up and down with Chase and his Berlin heart. Although the last 48 hours have finally seen some improvement, we are still buckled in for a bit of a roller coaster ride and a long road ahead of us. Please feel free to follow Chases Facebook page for updates but I just wanted to pass on our sincere thank you here.

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  • Things have changed...

      30 August 2023
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    Massive thanks to all who supported Chase in the past. Unfortunately things have become very dire for our little friend which is why we are reopening this page. Chase took a turn after contracting covid and subsequent respiratory viruses following this.

    He was airlifted to Starship earlier this week where he narrowly missed being placed on life support and will remain sedated and intubated in PICU as the family awaits surgery to place a Berlin heart. This will be a temporary fix while they wait for his heart transplant.

    The family are stressed and stretched and with the addition of Chases 9month old younger brother this time, the logistics of living day to day with uncertainty are overwhelming. We're hoping to raise some funds to help support the family once again so the pressure of finance is not one they have to worry about.

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  • A message from Chase's parents

      12 June 2021

    Update from the family:

    Kelsi, Andy and Chase would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has donated and written kind messages of support, it means more than you will ever know.

    Currently we are still in a holding pattern transplant wise, we are driving up to Starship once a month for cardiology appointments as per instructions from the Australian transplant team but there has been no movement on getting to Melbourne in the current climate there is a lot of hospital politics. We are very lucky Chase is compensating at the moment and we are at home soaking him up. He gets tired and breathless but he’s a happy little soul. The plan is to try to grow him big enough for an adults heart to give him more options but that goal post is far away at the moment as he’s very little for his age.

    We continue to take life day by day at the moment as we live in uncertainty but we whole heartedly appreciate the kindness and support we have been shown.

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  • For those following

      15 September 2020

    Just wanted to let you know that the family has now created a page specifically for those who are interested in following Chases' journey on Facebook. The page has been added to the links section of this page.

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  • Where are we?

      4 September 2020

    For now things are uncertain. A lot of questions are up in the air. Local MP's are involved in an attempt to gain some understanding behind the decision. Stay tuned to this Sundays news at 6pm where you can find out more about Chases' story.

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