Matthew Haynes

Matthew’s Journey to Get a New Heart!

Matthew Haynes is an 18-year-old son, brother, grandson, and uncle who was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) at birth. Matthew had survived four open heart surgeries by the time he was two years old, and many hospitalizations and heart catheterizations throughout his 18 years. Despite the trials with his health, Matthew is an energetic, kind, courageous, smart, and loving young man. He is going to be a senior this upcoming school year and wants nothing more than to live the life every 18-year-old should be living.

This past January, Matthew was admitted to Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego for massive swelling of the entire right side of his body. Doctors discovered his heart was in atrial fibrillation (A Fib). Normally, your heart contracts and relaxes to a regular beat. In atrial fibrillation, the upper chambers of the heart (the atria) beat irregularly (quiver) instead of beating effectively to move blood into the ventricles. If a clot breaks off, enters the bloodstream and lodges in an artery leading to the brain, a stroke results. Matthew was taken immediately to the heart catheterization lab so doctors could perform a cardiac conversion in order to restore his heart to a normal rhythm.

In addition to the A Fib, Matthew was also diagnosed with protein-losing enteropathy (PLE). Protein-losing enteropathy refers to any condition of the gastrointestinal tract that results in a net loss of protein from the body. Thankfully, the doctors were able to get his PLE under control and after three long weeks in the hospital, Matthew was able to go home, but on a rigid medication regime. In March 2017, Matthew’s medical case was discussed at a cardiology conference at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). By this point, doctors have seen a significant decrease in his heart function. It was determined Matthew will need a life-saving heart transplant.

Transplants are life-saving, but the costs are astronomical. Even with health insurance, co-pays, deductibles, doctor visits, travel and temporary relocation expenses continue to add up. Our out-of-pocket expenses will exceed $20,000! We must prepare for this reality.

To help with this financial burden, a fundraising campaign has been established in honor of Matthew with Help Hope Live, a trusted nonprofit organization that has been providing community-based fundraising guidance to their patients and their families for more than 30 years. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law and are held by Help Hope Live in the Southwest Heart Transplant Fund in honor of Matthew Haynes. Donations are allocated by Help Hope Live based on financial need for medical expenses. Please consider making a contribution today.

For credit card donations, please click the Donate Now button.

Our family looks forward to seeing Matthew live a full and happy life. We thank you for your prayers, support and generosity.

Gratefully,

Jennifer Woods
(Matthew’s mom)