Join Us For a New Year’s Fundraising Drive

This is 6-year old Owen Payton and his younger sister, Juliet , decorating their Christmas tree. Owen is the son of Chris and Christina Payton.  Born on March 1, 2006, Owen was diagnosed with heart failure, and doctors at the Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, have recommended a life-saving heart transplant.

Owen’s Story

Owen was born with double outlet right ventricle (DORV), a ventricle septal defect (VSD), pulmonary stenosis (PS), and transposition of the greater arteries. His heart condition is considered a complex, single ventricle heart.

Owen has already had three open heart surgeries, the first of which was the BT Shunt in March 2006, when he was just six days old. Then he had the Bi-Directional Glenn in October 2006 when he was just 8 months old. He came out of that surgery with a chylous effusion which caused him to need a thoracic duct ligation surgery in December 2006.  Then, Owen had his third open heart surgery, the Fontan, when I was a little over 3 and a half years old.

The first 16 months of Owen’s life, he was fed by NG tube but he’s eating by mouth now thanks to a special doctor and team that helped him through therapies.

He has also been diagnosed with Hemiparesis Cerebral Palsy (CP) on his right side and has had three complex partial seizures. Also during his Fontan surgery, Owen’s surgeons put in a Pacemaker, so he is now paced at 90 if his heart rate dips below.

In August 2010, Owen was diagnosed with Protein Losing Enteropathy (PLE), a complication of the Fontan, meaning his body doesn’t hold on to proteins anymore. This condition requires Owen stays on a steroid called Entocort that is helping maintain my protein levels.

And as of March 9, 2012, Owen was officially listed on the heart transplant list as a 1B status. With the cost of a transplant often exceeding $500,000, many transplant families are unable to shoulder the financial burden of such a procedure.

Help Make 2013 Owen’s Best Year Yet

Currently, an estimated $60,000 is being raised for Owen by West Chicago volunteers, and we would like to help them reach that goal. The Eric De La Cruz Hope For Hearts Foundation is asking you to make whatever donation you can directly to Owen’s Children’s Organ Transplant Association fundraising account at Owen’s COTA page.