SAVE THE LITTLE HEART OF JOSE MARIA
My name is Magda. I’m presently 16 weeks pregnant, due on 7.08.2025. We are going to have a boy named Jose Maria.
When I was 13 weeks pregnant, during a routine examination, doctors noticed the baby’s heart condition. After additional tests, it appeared that Jose suffers from hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). Because of that, I’ll be forced to give birth in Madrid or Barcelona, so doctors would be able to operate on our son’s heart just after birth. 
We are supposed to stay in Madrid or Barcelona for 2-3 months. For now, the baby will have at least 3 heart operations. We will need money for our son’s rehabilitation and all other expenses (as to this day we can only predict there will be many of them) connected with Jose’s treatment and long stays in Madrid or Barcelona (where there are hospitals and doctors specialized in heart conditions).
UPDATE:
Our son José María was born on August 9th, 2025, at the Gregorio Marañón Hospital in Madrid. Immediately after birth, he was admitted to the neonatal ICU. Four days after being born, on August 13th, José underwent a hybrid surgery aimed at stabilizing his heart and preparing him for the next interventions: the cardiac surgeons placed a small spring in the ductus to prevent it from closing so that blood could flow between the pulmonary vein and the aorta (this is a fetal vessel that normally disappears naturally in all newborns after birth), and also stents to narrow the pulmonary veins and control the amount of blood flowing to the lungs and the rest of the body. The surgery was successful, and José is currently stable.
After birth, the cardiologists confirmed that, in addition to the absence of the left ventricle of the heart, José’s aortic outlet is very narrow (instead of 7 mm, in José it is only 2 mm), and the valve between the right atrium and the right ventricle is leaking, causing blood to flow back. The doctors decided that the best solution in this situation is a heart transplant, and José has already been placed on the transplant waiting list.
If no donor is found, the next heart surgery will take place between the third and sixth month of life.
We have been in Madrid since the 36th week of pregnancy (we moved here from San Pedro del Pintar, in Murcia, where we normally live), and we will remain in Madrid for the coming weeks and months. José is and will remain in the ICU.
We kindly ask for your continued support—we are currently in constant motion between the hospital and the house where we are staying while waiting for a transplant or the next surgery.
UPDATE 03.2026
In the early hours of 23/11, we received a call from the hospital informing us that a donor heart had been found for our son and that José would undergo a heart transplant within a few hours. The surgery was very long and complex, as in addition to implanting the new heart, the doctors had to reconstruct the aortic arch. Everything went well. José returned to the pediatric ICU in very good condition and gradually began to recover.
On 30/11, for the first time since his birth, respiratory oxygen support was withdrawn. In mid-December, after more than four months, José left the ICU and was transferred to the cardiac surgery unit. There, he worked intensively with physiotherapists and speech therapists. From a motor development perspective, despite so many months of hospitalization, his progress was very good. The greatest challenge was teaching him to swallow and to eat independently, as since birth he had been fed exclusively through a nasogastric tube. 
After many weeks of attempts and exercises, the tube was removed and José is now able to eat normally and take all his medications by mouth. He must be fed with a special high-calorie formula to regain weight.
On 27/01, after 171 days in the hospital, including 129 days in the ICU, José was discharged and we were able to return home.
We are now adapting to a new reality of life after the transplant. Over the next year, we will have monthly follow-up visits in Madrid, alternating with check-ups at La Arrixaca Hospital in Murcia. After the first year, if everything goes well, visits to Madrid will be quarterly. José will need to take immunosuppressants twice a day for the rest of his life to prevent rejection of the transplant. During the first six months after the operation, he receives a very high level of immunosuppression, which significantly weakens his immune system, so we must avoid any possible sources of pathogens. We must also continue with physiotherapy.
We ask for your continued support, as we face numerous trips to Madrid and ongoing chronic treatment
You can help Jose Maria by making payment on the account:
Fundacja Pomocy Dzieciom i Osobom Chorym Kawalek Nieba
PL31109028350000000121731374
swift code: WBKPPLPP
Santander Bank
Title: 4328 Help for Jose Maria Pardo-Knysz
Or by electronic transfer:
