13-Month-Old Heart Patient Parker Is A Fighter: GoFundMe

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — Parker Faye Rice is a fighter. Just 13 months old, the little girl has already endured six open-heart surgeries. In December, Parker’s parents were told that their daughter would need a new heart, as her current surgical options had been exhausted.

Central Middle School sweethearts and lifelong Evergreen Park residents Matt and Kelly Rice dreamed of getting married and starting a family. On Dec. 23, 2019, they welcomed a beautiful daughter into the world. The baby was born with a number of rare congenital heart defects — heteroaxy right dominant arteriovenous, double outlet right ventricle, subaortic ventricular septal defect, smaller left ventricle, pulmonic valve stenosis, tetralogy of fallot, right aortic arch and anomalous left coronary artery from right pulmonary artery.

Parker been home for a few months. The family celebrated her first birthday, but when Parker developed a fever, Matt and Kelly brought her to Advocate Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn. Parker was transferred to Lurie Children’s Hospital, where she has been ever since. Through her many challenges over the past year, her parents have never left her side. Parker brightens their day by smiling through the tubes connecting her to machines.

On Jan. 11, Parker went for a routine cardiac catheterization to gather information for her transplant evaluation. During the procedure, Parker’s heart rate dropped to the 40s and 30s. CPR was performed for 25 minutes to bring her back. Over the next few days, Parker coded more times but kept fighting. As always, she has never given up.

“The kids [Matt and Kelly] were like deer in the headlights,” said Marty Masterson, Kelly’s stepdad. “There is nothing worse than seeing your kids in pain and not being able to help them, let alone your grandchild.”

Cardiologists at Lurie Children’s Hospital want to give Parker’s pulmonary artery a chance to grow over the next eight weeks before she is placed on a heart transplant list. Once listed, wait times for a heart are uncertain, but expected to be many months.

“It’s so bittersweet,” Kelly’ mom Carol Masterson said. “Somebody has to lose a baby to save a baby.”

Matt is an Illinois State trooper, and Kelly is a CPS teacher. Their friends, whom they’ve known since kindergarten, have stated a GoFundMe campaign — Parker Strong — with a goal of raising $75,000. Since the page was created on Sunday, $44,567 has been raised as of Thursday evening.

Although the couple are staying at Ronald McDonald House, because of COVID-19, volunteers haven’t been allowed to come in and cook meals for guests. There is the added expense of buying food and bringing it to their room. The specialized ambulance to transport the Parker from Advocate Children’s to Lurie’s cost $9,000.

Parker likes watching the Kookoo Chins and trolls on YouTube. When you ask her how big she is, she holds out her arms.

“She’s been happy since the day she was born,” Carol said. “She talks with her eyes and face, and smiles all the time. There is always a big smile through the tubes.”

“She’s cut a mouthful of teeth,” Marty added. “Other babies cry, but her tolerance for pain is high. Thirty years from now she won’t remember this pain. That is our hope as grandparents.”

To learn more about Parker’s journey and to make a donation, visit the Parker Strong-Support The Rice Family GoFundMe page.