To all our Friends and Family, approximately 4-5 months ago, Darrell started struggling with having a feeling of something being stuck in his throat. Initially, we thought he was just coming down with strep throat or a cold, but that never progressed into any illness. After several tests and trips to the Emergency Room, they have now determined the cause of his symptoms. Darrell’s condition is due to a rare congenital anomaly called a Double Aortic Arch (we should have a left-sided aortic arch) that he was born with (only about 0.05% of the population). His Aorta is right-sided dominant, has an incomplete vascular ring, and is now compressing on his esophagus and trachea that’s been causing intense coughing/gagging episodes that lead to suffocating him. These episodes have become more violent and frequent which has landed him in the ER multiple times. On July 1 st Darrell experienced another episode that ultimately led to being Life-Flighted to Seattle Swedish Hospital where he has remained under 24-hour care. Since being here, Darrell has had a graph added to his aorta to block the blood flow to the incomplete ring but that wasn’t fully successful. The team of doctors has decided that Open Heart Surgery is his best option. The surgery is to debranch the aortic arch and re-route the arteries that are causing the issues. This will be at least a 6-hour surgery with a recovery time of 3-4 months. Darrell is self-employed and the main source of income for our family. With all this being sudden and unexpected, it has now been causing a financial strain for us and will continue to be a challenge for the months to come. He is only 54 years old with a healthy heart but “with bad plumbing” as the doctor has called it. Usually, you can find him playing golf or hockey and spending the majority of his time with his family and friends. Darrell and I have been married (high school sweethearts) for 32 years. We have 2 wonderful children and 2 grandchildren. It would be a blessing if you could help support our family and together we can make a meaningful impact.
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