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The Heart of Wade, International Falls, MN (2026)

08/24/2026

We had a good and quick little Minneapolis trip with Wade. 💙

Last night we got to do something fun and take him swimming, which he absolutely loved! Seeing him splash around and just be a normal little boy after everything he’s been through will never get old!!

Then today was his cardiology appointment, and we got even more good news. ❤️ His heart repair continues to look great with excellent function, his mechanical mitral valve is working well, and there are no major concerns right now. We know he has a STRONG heart.
His cardiologist is comfortable stopping his diuretic, which is another huge step forward. We are officially off of ALL diuretics, which is such a huge step forward! There was a time a while back he was on 3-4 different ones and now today he’s officially on ZERO. 🎉

And one of the best updates — because of how well Wade is doing, his cardiologist feels comfortable stretching his echocardiograms and cardiology appointments out to every 4–6 months now! After so many appointments, echoes, hospital stays, and constant monitoring, hearing that feels like such a huge sigh of relief. Our next cardiology appointment is in FEBRUARY!

He does still have a mild gradient through his conduit that they’ll continue to watch, (which is expected and normal) and of course we’ll continue with his medications, INR checks, and precautions with his mechanical valve.

Next month, Wade will be heading back to Children’s Minneapolis for surgery to have his G-tube removed and another minor procedure. His team already has a detailed anticoagulation plan in place for before and after surgery. PLEASE send good thoughts, wishes, prayers, and/or words for no complications and easy recovery!!

Now we’re officially heading home after another encouraging trip. 💙
More answered prayers.
We are so incredibly thankful for how far our little heart warrior has come. ❤️‍🩹

07/17/2026

Here is a fun little cardiac lesson from a nurse mom, but MORE simplified! 😅❤️

Let’s start with how a normal heart works.

A healthy heart has four chambers and four valves that act like one-way doors.

Blood flow looks like this:

Body ➜ Right Atrium ➜ Tricuspid Valve ➜ Right Ventricle ➜ Pulmonary Valve ➜ Lungs (to pick up oxygen) ➜ Left Atrium ➜ Mitral Valve ➜ Left Ventricle ➜ Aortic Valve ➜ Aorta ➜ Body

(Blood returns from the body to the right side of the heart, passes through the tricuspid valve, and is pumped through the pulmonary valve to the lungs to pick up oxygen. From the lungs, oxygen-rich blood returns to the left side of the heart, passes through the mitral valve, and is pumped through the aortic valve into the aorta, which carries oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body.)

Everything moves in one direction, and the valves keep blood from flowing backward.

⸻

Wade’s heart before surgery was very different.

Wade was born with critical congenital aortic stenosis, which means the valve that lets oxygen-rich blood leave the left side of his heart was extremely narrowed. Imagine trying to drink a thick milkshake through a tiny coffee stirrer—that’s how hard his heart had to work just to push blood out to his body.

On top of that, his mitral valve eventually became severely leaky. Instead of all of the oxygen-rich blood moving forward to his body, some leaked backward into his left atrium with every heartbeat. That meant his heart had to pump the same blood over and over, making it work much harder than it should.

⸻

His Ross-Konno surgery (April 18, 2025) changed the way blood left his heart.

His surgeons:
🫀 removed his diseased aortic valve,
🫀 used his own pulmonary valve to create a new aortic valve (the Ross procedure),
🫀 enlarged the pathway out of his heart (the Konno procedure),
🫀 and placed a Contegra conduit to reconnect blood flow from the right side of his heart to his lungs.

After this surgery, blood could finally leave his heart much more freely instead of squeezing through a critically narrowed valve.

⸻

His mitral valve replacement (January 26, 2026) fixed another major problem.

Even after his first surgery, his mitral valve became too damaged to repair. It was leaking so badly that eventually Wade ended up in heart failure earlier this year. When we left the hospital for the first time in March 2025, we knew Wade’s mitral valve would eventually need to be replaced. We just didn’t know when that day would come.

His surgeons replaced it with a 17 mm mechanical mitral valve. Now, instead of blood leaking backward every beat, the valve keeps blood moving in the correct direction—from his left atrium into his left ventricle—so his heart can pump much more efficiently.

⸻

Today, Wade’s blood flow is much closer to what it should be. He will still have to have a few more surgeries to replace, or upsize, his current valve and conduit sizes in his precious little heart!

His heart may look different than most hearts. It has been rebuilt, repaired, and contains a mechanical valve that will click with every heartbeat. But thanks to incredible surgeons, nurses, therapists, modern medicine, and God’s grace, it continues to do exactly what it was made to do—keep our sweet boy alive.

Every heartbeat is a reminder of just how far he’s come.
We are endlessly grateful for every surgeon, nurse, therapist, and provider who has helped write Wade’s story, past and present. ❤️

06/30/2026

We had a VERY BUSY morning AND day! 😅

We stayed the night in Duluth last night so we could be ready for all of Wade’s appointments this morning. Before all the busy-ness started, we got to enjoy a little family time. We went out for Mexican for supper, and Wade LOVED it (I think it’s safe to say Mexican was a huge hit). After that, we went swimming—and I think we officially have a little fish on our hands! 💙

If you’ve been following Wade’s journey, you know he used to want nothing to do with the water! (Honestly probably because of his g tube and irritation.) Now? He couldn’t get enough! Seeing him laugh, splash, and genuinely enjoy swimming was one of those moments that filled our hearts. He kept trying to hop (fall) back into the pool as we were drying him off 🤣

This morning was packed with his echocardiogram, chest X-ray, labs, pediatrician appointment, and cardiology appointment! It was a VERY busy morning, but honestly, it was such a breath of fresh air to have appointments that were simply routine. After spending so much of Wade’s life in the hospital, having a day full of follow-ups instead of unexpected admissions or emergencies feels like such a blessing. 🩵

His pediatrician had some encouraging news too! He said Wade is catching up so quickly, and we couldn’t be prouder of how far he’s come. He still has a few developmental delays, NOW including speech, so we’ll be adding speech therapy to our schedule… because apparently our calendar wasn’t busy enough already! 😅 But, we’re excited to give him every opportunity to continue growing and thriving. 💙

Every appointment, every milestone, every new experience reminds us just how far this sweet boy has come. From spending months in a hospital bed to running through clinic hallways, enjoying tacos and rice, and splashing around in a pool, GOD has been so faithful to us. 🩵

Thank you to everyone who continues to pray for Wade, follow along on his journey, and love our family so well. Your encouragement means more than words can say.

Here’s to more ordinary appointments, more exciting milestones, and many more swimming adventures. We’re so proud of you, Wade! 💙💙💙

05/31/2026

Welcome to Wade’s story. 💙

Wade was born on March 3, 2025, and our lives changed forever. Shortly after birth, we learned that he had several severe congenital heart diseases, including critical aortic stenosis and abnormally shaped heart valves. What followed was a journey we never could have imagined.

At just one day old, Wade underwent his first balloon valvuloplasty in an attempt to open his aortic valve. A second procedure followed a month later, but ultimately his heart needed more. At only 6 weeks old, Wade underwent a Ross-Konno procedure —his first open-heart surgery that gave him a chance at life.

After spending months in the hospital, Wade finally came home, and we hoped the hardest days were behind us. Unfortunately, as he grew, his mitral valve continued to worsen. In January 2026, at just 10 months old, Wade underwent another open-heart surgery to receive a 17 mm mechanical mitral valve. Since the first surgery, he’s faced complications including heart rhythm issues, feeding challenges requiring a G-tube, left diaphragm paralysis, infections, countless lab draws, medications, therapies, and more hospital stays than any child should ever have to endure.

Despite every obstacle, Wade continues to amaze us. He has spent over half of his life in a hospital room, celebrated his first birthday inpatient, learned to smile through the hard days, and shown us what true strength looks like. He is currently a heart warrior living with a mechanical heart valve, daily medications, regular monitoring, and ongoing follow-up care—but he is also so much more than his diagnosis.

Wade is silly, determined, adventurous, stubborn, curious, a foodie, a momma’s boy and so full of life. He loves being outside, feeling the wind in his hair, making people laugh, and proving everyone wrong when they underestimate him. Every milestone feels hard-earned, and every achievement is worth celebrating.

This page is dedicated to sharing Wade’s journey—the highs, the lows, the victories, the setbacks, the medical updates, and the everyday moments that make him who he is. Thank you for following along, supporting our family, praying for our boy, and loving Wade through it all.

Over the past few weeks, I just realized how far Wade’s story had gone and how many people follow him. Every day for the past week, I have heard “I follow you on facebook!” when talking to Wade and I don’t know who they are, unfortunately! I wanted to create this page for easier access to follow us on his heart journey and milestones, and for those who struggle to follow on my personal page. 🩵

We’re so glad you’re here. 💙

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