Meet Elias. He’s 17 Days Old.

I’ve met dozens of children this week—all with heart defects.

It’s the older ones who draw me in the most because of the fact that they’ve lived five, eight and sometimes fifteen years with a heart defect. I can’t wrap my mind around the stories of those who have searched for a lifetime, trying to find someone or some distant country that could give them the heart surgery they need to live.

But then I meet babies like Elias.

Elias is 17 days old. He’s been waiting 17 days for a lifesaving heart surgery—the shortest wait of anyone I’ve met this week. But unlike all the other children I’ve met, his window of survival is the shortest. If he had been born 17 days earlier or 17 days later, it would have been too late for him.

But he wasn’t. He was born at just the right time and thankfully for that, it means we get to be here to help correct his heart defect before it’s too late.

A healthy 17-day-old baby isn’t that strong and Elias has already suffered more than most. A complicated heart surgery is going to push him to his limit but these are exactly the kind of cases that we’re here for.

Elias goes in for his surgery now. Follow his story and share it with others. Let’s rally around Elias, he’s going to need all the support we can give him!

Stay tuned…

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Living Light InternationalInternational Children's Heart Foundation