Monthly Donation Request

We would GREATLY appreciate your help in paying for Levi's upcoming heart transplant (we assume our portion will be approximately $150,000).  Rather than buying a product you don't really want that nets us only a few dollars we are asking you to consider making a monthly donation to Levi's Medical Fund (see below for donation options).  Please know that we appreciate every prayer, every uplifting word and every financial donation.


1.  Mail a check made out to Levi Shultz Medical Fund to:

Pinnacle Bank

c/o Tellers

PO Box 676

Keene, TX  76059

2.  Mail a check made out to Levi Shultz Medical Fund to:

Chris & Annette Shultz

1015 Elm Street

Eudora, KS  66025

(we will forward it to Pinnacle Bank)

3.  If you want your donations to be tax deductible you can make an online donation through Help Hope Live here.

Or, you can make checks payable to:  Help Hope Live

Note in memo:  In honor of Levi Shultz

Mail to:

Help Hope Live

2 Radnor Corporate Center

Suite 100

100 Matsonford Road

Radnor, PA 19087

Amazon Account Terminated

We are no longer an Amazon Associate.

We received notification from Amazon today that our Amazon Associate account was not in compliance with their requirements so it was terminated.  Thank you to all of you who used that as a way to contribute to Levi's medical expenses!

Kidney Transplant?

During one of Levi's hospital visits in the past few months the transplant surgeon mentioned doing a kidney transplant at the same time as the heart transplant.  Levi only has one kidney and we know that heart failure affects kidneys and that the transplant medications are hard on kidneys.  Still, we kinda just blew it off since no one has ever said his kidney was not functioning properly.

Well, this past Monday (August 5th) he went for a kidney transplant consultation.  They did a ton of tests (not quite as many as for the heart transplant consultation) and determined that his kidney is working at 44% of capacity.  It has to be down to 20% to be considered for a transplant.

So, it's good news that he doesn't need a kidney transplant but also concerning to know that it is not working as well as we had assumed.

We have more questions now than we did before .... and no answers yet.  But we know God is in control!

A Long Day at the Hospital

Levi had his heart transplant evaluation today.  He met with a social worker, a transplant coordinator, a dietitian and had more tests run.  The tests included blood work, an ultrasound of his carotid artery in his neck, a check of the pressure in his legs and a CT of his brain.  He has to go back for an abdominal ultrasound.

He is on the transplant list at a Status 4 -- Status 1 is the most urgent and Status 7 is the least.  We are assuming that means a transplant is not imminent at this time.

With the recent changes in his medication he is feeling pretty good.  Thank you, everyone, for your prayers!

Defibrillator

The condition of Levi's heart was causing the doctors to be concerned that he didn't have a defibrillator.  So, he had one implanted last week.  He was quite sore for a few days and has lift restrictions for four weeks. 

Stress Echo Test

Levi had a stress echo test this week which verified that his heart is under performing and does not show any signs of improvement. So, they are getting him on the transplant list. They'll be performing a heart cath within the next couple of weeks along with implanting a defibrillator as they don't feel it is safe for him to continue without a defibrillator for much longer.  They've tweaked his medications some more, too. The heart cath will most likely give us a clearer idea of what the time frame is for transplant and probably determine whether or not they want to keep Levi in ICU while waiting for a heart.

American Heart Association

I've been unable to find any information about the AHA helping individual heart patients.  Does anyone have any information?

Prayers needed for Levi!

In November, Levi began struggling to breathe because of fluid around his lungs.  His doctors determined that his heart was failing due to rejection.  They took action to reverse the rejection and he felt much better and was able to visit family for the holidays.

So far in 2019 Levi has had a few hospital stays due to heart failure symptoms.  These symptoms are due to restricted blood flow to and from his heart.  The doctors have put him on new meds and adjusted others.  His heart is somewhat stabilized but still considered to be in failure. 

At this point he is doing okay and trying to do things as normally as possible since he's not technically on the list for another transplant yet. We should know more within the next couple months.

Please join us in praying for healing for his heart, wisdom for the doctors, and financial support.