Benefit raises 45K  for Kasson family

An estimated 300 people attended a benefit at the Kasson American Legion on Aug. 15 that raised approximately $45,000 for the Carstensen family and their unborn daughter.
When Kasson natives Riley and Lucas Carstensen went in for their daughter’s 26-week checkup, they received unpleasant news. A previous anatomy scan had shown abnormalities in their baby’s heart. The checkup confirmed she has hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a serious heart defect where the left side of the heart is too small and cannot pump blood to the body properly.
«We are so incredibly blessed and feeling so grateful for the community that came out and showed up,» said Riley Carstensen, adding all the help has eased their transition back to Minnesota. The family had been living in Wasilla, Alaska but needed to move to receive lifesaving health care for their daughter.
Carstensen said just three to seven days after birth, their daughter will undergo the Norwood procedure, a complex open-heart surgery that will allow the single working right ventricle to pump blood to both the body and the lungs.
A second surgery, the Glenn procedure at three to six months after birth, will disconnect the superior vena cava from the heart and attach it directly to the pulmonary artery so that blood from the upper body flows straight to the lungs.
The third and final open-heart surgery, the Fontan procedure performed at 18 to 36 months old, will disconnect the inferior vena cava from the heart and connect it to the pulmonary artery using a tube, allowing blue, oxygen-poor blood from the lower body to flow straight to the lungs without passing through the heart.
If everything goes well, Carstensen said their child will live till her mid 20’s before needing a heart transplant.