Family was planning Disney trip when they learned their little boy had weeks to live —a stranger’s message made the impossible possible
A young couple faced every parent’s worst fear after learning their infant had a serious heart condition. Alex and Alexis found out their one-year-old son, Xaiden, was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, a severe congenital defect that rendered the left side of his heart underdeveloped, per FOX19. He survived his first open-heart surgery at just six days old, but a stroke led to hydrocephalus and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, leaving his body struggling to respond.
According to research published in the National Library of Medicine by Stacy M. Kritzmire, Aby Thomas, Maria S. Horenstein and Anne E. Cossu in 2019, HLHS is rare, occurring in about 1 in 5,000 births and often linked to genetic or developmental factors early in pregnancy. The condition remains life-threatening and outcomes can be unpredictable. For Xaiden, the prognosis his parents received was devastating. “They just told us to come make memories with him,” his mother, Alexis, said. The shift was immediate. Their days turned into a race to fill whatever time remained with moments they could hold onto.
His story reached many when FOX19 shared the story of Xaiden and families watched as Alexis described how, just weeks earlier, they were planning a Christmas vacation and were now being told to prepare for their son’s funeral. What they wanted most was simple: quality time with family. The broadcast moved people deeply, but one family in particular felt compelled to do something more than just hope for the best. Already on vacation at Disney, the Shotwell family, who live in Carlisle, saw the segment and decided to do something.
Retired firefighter and paramedic Kelly Shotwell said the decision came almost instantly, according to the outlet. He reached out to Alexis, “I had a message on my Facebook and it just said ‘hey, we’re down here at Disney, if I can get you down here, would that be doable for you guys?’” she recalled
From there, everything happened quickly. “It kind of just worked out,” Shotwell said. “We found flights, we found tickets, we already had the place, we got them a rental car.”
For a family bracing for the tough time ahead, it was a gift. A Disney trip had always been something they imagined saving for, something, as Alexis said, they wanted to do “once they got a little older.”
Despite his prognosis, Xaiden’s mood had shifted since leaving the hospital. “We all feel better, so he’s feeling better to a point,” Alexis said. His dad, Alex, remembered catching a rare moment just days earlier. “I actually got videos of him laughing to himself, belly laughing while he was asleep.”
As they packed for Florida, tiny clothes, medical supplies and more hope than they expected to carry, Alexis admitted they are overwhelmed. “We don’t even know these people but they feel like family just while we’ve been here,” she said. She’s holding onto one thing with both hands: “I’m so excited to be able to take him to Disney World, I just can’t wait to see his face.”