This is a blog about Oliver Yore. A little peanut with a big heart.

I’m Silvia, one of Claudia’s three sisters. My husband Andrew created this website for Claudia and Tom, and I write the blogs. We all live locally here in the San Francisco Bay Area. We are so grateful to have one of America’s top hospitals right here in our backyard.

This blog started when Oliver was 12 days old, and only because my husband had bought me an iPhone, and I wanted to try out the camera feature. Now it has become so much to so many people!

Oliver was born with an enlarged heart because his aortic valve did not develop properly and the blood backed up in one of his chambers. He has what’s called Aortic Stenosis. He has had two ballooning procedures to open up that valve. He later developed emphysema in one of his lungs and had to have one section of his left lobe removed. Currently he is challenged with having food aversion, which means he will not willingly swallow. Hence he does not nurse nor eat. This likely developed as a result of being intubated multiple times for weeks at a time. This caused him to develop a suspicion of anything that goes into his mouth. He was fed by a nasogastric tube for the first 7 months of his life and that did not help his oral aversion either. It’s likely that Oliver will need to have surgery sometime in his life to correct the aortic stenosis. It’s not possible to say how long the ballooned valve will hold out. If he is able to have the Ross procedure, his prognosis looks very good. He will have a normal life, maybe just be on the smaller side for his frame. I think he will always require more calories than most for his heart to function well.

Our family’s mission is to support Claudia, Tom, Bella, Nathan, and Oliver in any way we can. There is nothing more important right now than making a difference in Oliver’s life. His journey is difficult but he is absolutely adored, and in strong and capable hands.

Someday when times are easier, maybe Claudia will be able to write a little about Oliver’s birth.

Thank you to everyone who reads this blog and prays for Oliver. I know it means a lot to Claudia and Tom.