Ohio family asks for help to provide child with life-saving surgery

GREENVILLE, Ohio (WDTN) – A Greenville couple is reaching out to help their young boy in need of a life-saving surgery.

Eight-year-old Anthony Joyner has had four open heart surgeries in his lifetime. His fifth one is scheduled at a hospital in California and his family is asking for help from the community to get him here.

Anthony had his latest open heart surgery a year ago.

“It was supposed to be his last. He also had a softball size aneurysm on his heart they had to remove,” said Ashley Woods, Anthony’s mother.

Anthony made it through the twelve hour surgery. A huge relief for his family, although the feeling didn’t last long.

“Because when they tried to dissect the aneurysm off of Anthony’s heart he had a stroke. He wasn’t able to talk, walk, and affected his whole left side. He had multiple, multiple seizures for days after the surgery,” Woods said.

The second grader has regained much of his speech and motion. He may look in the clear, but his mother says he’s far from it.

In March, Anthony is scheduled for another open heart surgery in California.

To be done by the only surgeon Woods said would agreed to do it.

Woods is the mother of two other children. She is their full-time care provider, spending most of the time making sure Anthony is taking all nine of his medications at the right times.

In a last ditch effort to save her son’s life, Woods took to the internet and set up a GoFundMe page to cover travel and lodging costs for the trip to California for Anthony’s surgery.

“This is a last resort. I’m not able to work. There’s no way I can come up with that much money. To make it work.  There’s no way. He needs this. This is going to save his life. if he doesn’t have this surgery he will die. Period,” Woods said.

You can make a donation by clicking here. You will be directed to Anthony’s GoFundMe page.