Against all odds six-month-old Hollis Kellerman is a survivor; Spaghetti dinner benefit Sunday, April 6 at St. Mary Magdalen Parish Hall in Todd's Mill
A breathtaking story of a child's will to live began unfolding in Cardinal Glennon Hospital last fall. Now, six-month-old Hollis Cecelia Kellerman needs our help.
Hollis was born Sept. 14, 2013 to Jared and Whitney (Wojtowicz) Kellerman.
She only weighed 3 lb. 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.
She will require another surgery in about three to six months and a final surgery around age 3.
Here's How You Can Help
Here's how you can help. Friends and family are hosting a benefit at St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Todd's Mill on Sunday, April 6. It is a spaghetti dinner and pinochle tournament. The dinner is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for kids 4-11 and free for children age 3 and under.
Registration for the pinochle tournament is 12 noon and the tournament starts at 1 p.m. The entry fee is $20. To preregister, call Jeff Suchomski at 618-317-2421. Food and refreshments will be available for purchase. There will be a 50-50 drawing and raffle!