By Kristine Kern, Review Staff Writer
There will be a benefit for the Mike and Melissa Einck family of Wilmont on Sunday, January 22nd from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at St. Columba Hall in Iona. Mike and Melissa are expecting their second child in February. The baby has a heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). Babies with HLHS have an underdeveloped left side of the heart and cannot pump enough blood to meet the bodies needs. Treatment generally consists of three surgeries. The Einck’s have been referred to Mott’s Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI. They will deliver the baby there and do the surgeries there. To ensure the baby is born in MI, Mike and Melissa have to be there three weeks prior to the due date. The first surgery will be done in the first week of the baby’s life. Babies can generally go home a month after the first surgery to prepare for the second surgery.
Melissa, a Deputy with the Nobles County Sheriff’s Department, and Mike, a delivery driver for UPS, wrote on their Facebook page “this journey will most likely test us in many ways, but we cannot wait to meet our little heart warrior! We ask that everyone keep our baby in their prayers.” Proud big sister Mari is looking forward to meeting her new “partner in crime.”
Breakfast/lunch will be served by VanBully’s Bar and Grill. It is a free will donation. Come over to Iona for a delicious meal and wish Mike, Melissa, Mari and baby Einck well on this new journey they face.
