TRI-CITIES, Wash. – According to the American Heart Association, over 2.4 million Americans alive today have some form of congenital heart disease. Tri-Cities’ own Skylar Collins has been one of those people, until he got a new heart and liver in 2022.
Collins’ story started in 1993, when he came into the world with a congenital heart defect (CHD) in the form of Hypoplastic right heart syndrome. The American Heart Association reports around 40,000 children are born in the US each year with some form of CHD.
“My first procedure was the day I was born,” Collins said. “I think growing up, I rejected that community a lot because I didn’t want to be associated, because that would have meant I was different.”
Born and raised in the Tri-Cities, this place has always been home, and being healthy has always been a battle.
“You can’t look at someone and see it and know that they have it, and so I think for me, growing up, like knowing that information, I pushed myself as hard as I could,” he said. “I’ve seen kids, even as an adult, who have it doing the same thing, and I think it’s awesome. And so, I think the strength that comes from is definitely unmatched, for sure.”
After years of procedures, Collins I now in his early 30s and no longer living with CHD, because he got a new heart and a new liver. When his doctor told him he needed a transplant years ago, Collins said he was taken aback, since he had been relatively healthy at that point.
“His whole reasoning was to do it now while I was relatively healthy. Eventually the wear and tear is going to come and it’s going to catch up with me, and it’ll be that, you know, I’ll be at the point of no return,” he said.
In 2022, Collins and his wife went to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center for his heart and liver transplant in California. The surgery went off without a hitch, but when a patient undergoes a full transplant, Collins said they often have to stay close to the hospital anywhere from 6-12 months for check-ups.
And that’s when life gets even more expensive if you’re away from home. For Collins, this is when strangers stepped in to help.
“And what we came to know is that there is no cure for this condition,” Eric Ankerud, Heartfelt Dreams Foundation CEO and Co-Founder said.
Heartfelt Dreams Foundation (HDF), a New Hampshire based nonprofit, was founded in 2019 by Eric and Lori Ankerud. The nonprofit’s mission to help CHD patients all stems from Lori’s story.
“My wife, Lori, was born in the 1950s at a time when open heart surgery had not yet been invented. It wasn’t involved. It wasn’t available to surgeons,” Ankerud said. “She was one of the very first infants in the country to be treated with open heart surgery, which ended up saving her life.”
And now today, the couple is making sure people just like Lori get the care they need; from directing patients to the right specialists, to paying for travel accommodations, Ankerud said HDF receives calls from five to six people a day all across the country, asking for help.
The nonprofit really took off during the pandemic as Ankerud and his team started networking more and more. Soon, what started as a regional nonprofit became a much bigger endeavor, as the mission to help those in need always stayed the same.
The biggest goal of HDF is to guide CHD patients into the right hands and financially support them along the way, enhancing their experience battling a life-long illness. The Ankeruds know how challenging a diagnosis like CHD is, from living with it to loving someone who is; if money can help ease worry for a child or adult in need, then they’re happy to continue the work.
“All of our transportation and accommodations will be provided for free. The patient and family will pay nothing,” Ankerud said.
And that’s exactly what happened for Collins. HDF paid for a few months of his rent staying in Los Angeles post-transplant, he and his wife’s groceries, and travel back to LA for appointments once they moved home to Washington.
They don’t owe them a cent back.
For a kid who grew up hesitant to accept help from others, this was a whole new world for Collins.
“Getting to know people who are in the same boat as me, and, and getting connected to, to people like Eric and his wife, it definitely made it easier,” Collins said.
Collins’ reality holds a lot less financial burden than it would have, if the Ankeruds didn’t come into the picture, showing just how special it is when people with good hearts lend a helping hand.
Today, Skylar’s the healthiest he’s been since he was born, just in time to welcome his first child into the world.
“Heartfelt Dreams Foundation definitely did that for us, and we’re 100% grateful for it.”
Ankerud published a book titled Heartfelt Dreams about the faith, perseverance, and love entwined through his wife’s and family’s story living with CHD. All proceeds from the sale of the book goes to HDF to support the nonprofit’s mission to help people just like those written about in the pages of the book.
For more information on Heartfelt Dreams and how to receive assistance if you or someone you know needs it, visit the foundation’s website by clicking here.
