Nowata boy dies of rare congenital heart defect, parents urge others to learn more about the illness

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NOWATA, Okla. — Last month we told you about a young boy in Nowata who was living with a rare congenital heart defect.

At the time we were telling you about the need for more nurses to take care of children in their homes.

His mother was taking care of him and doing all she could but sadly she said he died last week unexpectedly,

Now the family is asking for help with funeral expenses while trying to raise awareness about Congenital Heart Defects.

We first interviewed Kayla Heitger in February about her son Jensen who was dealing with a Congenital Heart Defect that only about one percent of 40,000 children born a year deal with.

Jensen spent more than 400 days in the hospital after being born with the disease. During that time his mother was trained and learned how to care for him every day.

His family is asking for help with funeral expenses and to remember their son who never gave up during a difficult fight.

“There is not enough congenital heart defect awareness. If I had known more about it, I would have been more prepared. You usually don’t know about these things until they happen to you, so I want to know that Jensen gets out there and know that there is no cure for these things,” said Heitger.

“We just need funds and tings for research there is just not enough out there to find cures or other things to do,” Heitger said.

You can help with funeral costs for Jensen by going to this GoFundMe page.