He is a pint-sized fighter who has been through a lot since he was born. 2-year-old Andrew Reed has already undergone two open-heart surgeries, and now he is gearing up for his third.
Andrew's family tells us he was born with multiple heart defects.
"I found out when I was 22-weeks pregnant with Andrew that he had two holes in his heart," said Bethany Reed.
His medical diagnosis includes Pulmonary Atresia with VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect), Atrial Septal Defect, Levo-Transposition of the Great Arteries or L-TGA, a small left ventricle, and minor Hypoplasia.
"He basically has one single left ventricle meaning that he only has the left side of his heart that works. He only has one pumping chamber instead of four, explained Andrew's father, Doug Reed.
Home videos show the child laughing and playing with his 7-year-old sister Olivia, but his mother said because of his condition, Andrew would get tired very quickly, sometimes, this would cause his lips to turn blue.
"We have to tell him, 'okay, calm down, let's take a break,'" said Bethany Reed.
He's had to take up to 20 medications a day at one point. The surgeries also led to Andrew suffering from eating normally, so he had had to be fed through tubes. Now his family tells us he is finally starting to eat on his own.
Andrew's third open-heart surgery is expected to be the most serious one yet. His family plans to travel to Lucille Packard Children's Hospital Stanford in California. The Reed's said a heart specialist there had performed many similar surgeries, which is why they chose that hospital for their son's treatment.
The surgery is expected to take place in the next six months. While Andrew has kept in good spirits and is always smiling, his parents tell us it's been a rough road for the family.
"We used to say it's a good day if we didn't cry because you know, every day something would happen, somebody would come by his bedside and tell us more bad news or just something else that we would have to worry about," said Bethany Reed.
Relatives have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to help the Reed's with out-of-pocket costs while Andrew is in California.
If you would like to help, go to GoFundMe: Andrew's 3rd Open Heart Surgery.
The Reed's say they are overwhelmed and grateful for the support from the community.
