Team Travis: Helping Others

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Helping Others

This is Travis' Aunt Tina. I am posting for Nicole and Roger. They would like everyone to know that Travis is still on the bypass machine waiting for an OR time. Although his brain is not functioning, they are keeping his other organs alive. Nicole and Roger have made the selfless decision to donate as many of Travis' organs as are viable. At this point, we are unsure as to which organs are viable. We ask for your prayers that most of them are viable so that Travis' legacy will live on through saving the lives of others.

Also, our family has been receiving many requests from people wishing to help. One way you can help is to donate to help defray the costs associated with the memorial and missing of work. On the right side of the www.teamtravis.info website is a donation button. It is linked to a PayPal account where donations can be made to help Nicole and Roger.

Should anyone have any questions, you can e-mail me via Facebook. Travis' Aunt, Tina Gagne

3 comments:

BreeFebruary 20, 2011 at 12:55 PM
I will pray for viable organs. What a wonderful way for Travis' legacy to live on and a most selfless gift; the gift of life. You have a wonderful family. Praying for you always.
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calieli75February 20, 2011 at 2:24 PM
Thank you for teaching us how to love others. Thank you Travis.
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AnonymousFebruary 20, 2011 at 3:35 PM
I am so sorry for the loss of your beautiful son, Travis. You are some amazing parents!! You are giving another child the chance at life. Travis will forever live in your hearts and now he will go on living in other children.
Fly high sweet baby!
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Travis Gary DiCarlo

Travis Gary DiCarlo, first son of Roger and Nicole DiCarlo, was born at San Diego Kaiser Hospital, October 23, 2009 with a Congenital Heart Defect known as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, or HLHS. The short explanation is that Travis was born with only half of a heart. In order for him to live, a series of three operations were planned.

Due to an infection, Travis had to have an additional open heart surgery to insert pulmonary artery bands on October 29, 2009. He had his Norwood Surgery on November 21, 2009. He was sent home on December 14, 2009 from Rady's Children Hospital of San Diego after spending his first 52 nights of life in the hospital.

After being home for several months, Travis was due to for his next surgery in the plan, the Glenn procedure. But the life of a cardiac kid can change in an instant and life doesn't always go as planned. Due to the anatomy of his heart and some rhythm issues, Travis had what the surgeons called Norwood part 2. They replaced his Sano Shunt with a bigger one, enlarged his pulmonary arteries and installed a pacemaker. This surgery was performed on May 3, 2010. Travis went home on May 17th, 2010.

Around Travis' first birthday in October his cardiologist detected some narrowing in his pulmonary artery and ordered a heart cath. The heart cath showed extensive narrowing in his aorta and his pulmonary artery. On February 17, 2011 Travis had his 4th open heart surgery. He was doing well with recovery until he suddenly went into cardiac arrest on Friday (2/18). After two hours of CPR Travis was placed on ECMO (a heart/lung bypass). Although his heart did begin to beat again on its own, his brain was damaged during the whole ordeal and he lost all brain function. We had to say goodbye to our beautiful boy on Saturday, February 19th. We miss our boy terribly.....