This is our precious son Salias! Our sweet, strong little warrior who has fought harder in his short life than many do in a lifetime. As his parents, it breaks our hearts to watch him struggle, and we are reaching out with open hands and hopeful hearts for your support.

When Salias was only 12 days old, we woke in the night to his cries and found him fighting desperately to breathe. He turned completely blue and went unresponsive more than once. At the hospital they called it BRUE ( Brief Resolved Unexplained Event).

Since that terrifying night, these episodes have happened over and over again for more than two years. Sadly, his uncle went through the same struggles and passed from SIDS at just 4 months old.

Salias has a very rare condition: a pressure-induced mass in his throat (only 42 cases ever reported). When he cries, strains, or even bears down, this mass swells and blocks his airway, making it hard or impossible for him to breathe. On top of that, doctors have found other serious issues including pauses in his breathing (apneas), a hole in his heart that causes shunting, narrowing in his pulmonary artery, seizure-like episodes, and upper airway problems.

Even though tests have shown these real problems, many specialists have dismissed our concerns and simply told us he might “outgrow it.” We’ve seen pulmonologists, cardiologists, ENTs, neurologists, and more but we’ve now run out of local options.

Because of the throat mass, we can’t safely fly anywhere for the specialized care he needs; the pressure changes on a plane could cause the mass to swell and cut off his airway for a dangerous length of time.

As his mom, the fear never leaves me. I watch him sleeping and suddenly he stops breathing — his little chest still, his color fading to blue and purple. Sometimes he stumbles in my arms, goes stiff, turns dark, and becomes completely limp and unresponsive. Those are the moments I have to jump in with CPR to bring him back. Every single episode is terrifying, and the worry that one might happen while he’s sleeping and we won’t catch it keeps us up at night. No parent should have to live like this.

On June 20, 2026, we received a letter from ProMedica. Our insurance has denied their claims, leaving us with a new balance of $21,056.00. They say they need more information from the insurance company before they will process anything. If we can’t get this resolved quickly, we are fully responsible for paying this bill ourselves.they said they need a ICD-10 which is a spefic diagnosis code that they can see if it can fall within their payment rules. They hospital doesn't have a specific code as it is a multi-system issue that doesnt fit a textbook box. They can just take a took at his medical chart and see his ongoing health issues.

This is on top of the mountain of debt we’ve already accumulated from years of doctor visits, tests, and hospital stays.

All of this has completely drained our savings. We are now facing the very real threat of homelessness while trying to raise our four young children and fight for Salias’s life. We hate having to ask for help, but we have nowhere else to turn.

We have made it this far only by the grace of God and the loving support of so many of you, truly the hands and feet of Jesus. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. We cling to His promise in Jeremiah 29:11 — that He has plans to prosper us and give us hope and a future. We believe He is still working miracles for Salias

“We are trusting in the God who is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).”