Hollis Kellerman benefit raises $27,000!

Sunday's fundraising benefit and pinochle tournament for little Hollis Kellerman at Mary Magdalen Church in Todd's Mill raised approximately $27,000, according to the family. And, the number keeps climbing, according to various unconfirmed reports.

It was a remarkable show of support for a beautiful child with the will to live against all odds.

The breathtaking story began unfolding in Cardinal Glennon Hospital last fall.

Now, six-month-old Hollis Cecelia Kellerman needs our help in every way and our prayers as she goes in and out of Cardinal Glennon Hospital.

Hollis was born Sept. 14, 2013 to Jared & Whitney (Wojtowicz) Kellerman.

She only weighed 3lb. and 4 oz. at birth.

After spending seven long weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit at Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center in St. Louis she was welcomed home by her very excited eight-year-old brother Jaedon Kellerman.

It is truly a miracle that she even survived after being born so tiny, but now she is fighting another, more serious battle.

Hollis was born with a congenital heart defect known as hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).

This is a very rare, very serious condition. Only four out of every 10,000 live births have HLHS.

HLHS babies have a very small aorta and little to no left heart ventricle. Her heart is even more special because she also suffers from double outlet right ventricle (DORV).

DORV is when the heart's two great arteries both arise from the right ventricle. DORV occurs in 1-3% of babies born with congenital heart defects.

These conditions can be treated by a series of three surgeries, all of which are fully invasive, fully open-heart procedures that require heart/lung bypass and multiple hours.

She underwent the first surgery on Feb. 19, 2014. After 10 long hours the surgeons were successful in completing the first phase of her treatment.

Twelve hours into recovery she went into cardiac arrest. Her tiny heart was just too weak from the grueling procedure. The doctors were able to revive her but it was later discovered that she suffered an anoxic brain injury in the process. Currently she is doing well from a cardiac standpoint and was recently moved from the pediatric intensive care unit to the transitional care unit.

She is now being treated for the brain injury with physical and occupational therapy. It is uncertain at this point when she will be able to come home.