Lititz Couple Hopes to Bring Son Home Soon

When Lititz parents Leigh and Jerry Maldonado flew to California in October so that their 2 ½ year old son, Adam, could undergo a special heart surgery at Stanford’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, they never dreamed that they would get stranded there.

“The surgery went great,” said Leigh of the October 24 procedure, “but 36 hours into his recovery his lung collapsed and he went into cardiac arrest.” What was supposed to be a 7-to-10-day stay has turned into two months, and Adam has battled for his life.

Dark scars like laces on a football run the length of Adam’s tiny chest. A tangle of tubes twists its way across his body, taped into place over tender skin. Adam lies in his hospital bed, dwarfed by devices that keep him alive.

Adam seemed healthy at birth, yet just several hours later, nurses noticed he had turned blue. His parents were informed that his heart and lungs weren’t working properly.

Adam was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition, Tetralogy of Fallot, or ToF, a combination of four defects affecting the flow of blood to the heart and lungs. He underwent his first open heart surgery at only four days old.

He’s had multiple operations and procedures in his life, including three open heart surgeries. He was doing well, so his parents decided to bring him to Stanford for a procedure to try to alleviate the pressure and save his heart.

When they finally got to hold Adam again some 50 days following surgery, it was a memorable experience.

“It was amazing to be able to hold him again,” said Jerry. “It felt like the day one when he was born.”

The Maldanados have been off from work without pay since October—Jerry from his production job at Wilbur Chocolate and Leigh from her position as a school bus driver for Manheim Township. They have had to raise funds to cover the costs of travel and to pay their bills.

“We’re getting through by the kindness and generosity of people,” said Jerry. “It’s been tough but times when I though we’d lose the car, or the home, I just said ‘God will provide one way or another,’ and He has.”

The family set up a GoFundMe fundraising page to receive donations to cover their travel and other expenses. So far, they have only raised $6,438 towards a goal $10,000. Anyone can donate to assist the family with their needs.

For now, they are living at the Ronald McDonald house near the Lucille Packer Children’s Hospital where Adam fights a daily battle for survival. It’s a good day when he sits up to play.

Soon Jerry will return to Lititz, but his return to work at Wilbur will bring another challenge.

“Jerry works third shift, so we’re not sure who’s going to watch the baby,” said Leigh of the couple’s younger son, Cole.

They hope Adam’s condition improves enough that he can be flown from Stanford to the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania via a medical flight. Surgeons at Stanford don’t want him to go.

Jerry asked that people pray “for complete healing over [Adam’s] whole body, that his lungs would fully recover and be infection free, for finances to be able stay together as a family, not be 3,000 miles apart,” he said.

“He’s slowly getting better,” said Jerry today, noting that his son is awake more and becoming less ventilator-dependent.

“He’s going to require a lot of PT and OT,” said Jerry. “He’s pretty stiff, and he’s going to need to learn to walk all over again.”

Those wishing to send a card to the Maldonados can do so online through the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital card portal to the family, or by regular mail to Ronald McDonald House, 520 Sand Hill Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94304,  Attn: Maldonado M308.

The Maldonados are the second of our “12 Families of Christmas” featuring local families in need of community support and assistance this holiday season and beyond published by LititzDailyNews.com.  It’s also been called our “12 Families Struggling.” To read the stories of other Lititz families, please like our Facebook page to receive updates in your news feed as the stories are published. If you have a family that you know is in need, please contact us at [email protected].

Lynn Rebuck writes about families and faith for LititzDailyNews.com. She welcomes your comments and questions to [email protected].