Metro Atlanta mom in desperate need of heart transplant following rare diagnosis

ATLANTA - A metro Atlanta mother is in the hospital fighting for her life after she was diagnosed with a rare form of heart failure earlier this month.

The woman’s husband told FOX 5 she’s now in desperate need of a transplant but getting her on the transplant list comes with its own set of challenges … mainly the cost. 

"She’s always been strong but right now we just gotta be strong for her," Earl Moore said. 

Moore said his wife, Laquedia Moore, has a heart of gold, but that heart was diagnosed with Peripartum cardiomyopathy, a rare form of heart failure, in early August. 

"It’s a heart condition women develop after they give birth," Moore said.

The diagnosis came four months after the birth of their youngest daughter Serenity — a rainbow baby.

"We actually had four, but our daughter before our last daughter, she passed away from a heart condition so that there was already a lot on our family," he said. 

The father of three said an EKG revealed his wife’s heart was only functioning at 10 percent. That’s when doctors told him a transplant was their only option. 

"We got three beautiful daughters, and we just want to get mommy home, you know ... back to the family," he said. 

Moore told FOX 5 just getting on the transplant list costs at least $5,000 and his wife’s insurance will only cover some of the cost, so this all came as a heavy and unexpected burden with no immediate family in the state and him unable to return to work. 

"I stay here every night, I leave before my daughters get out of school, go home, do homework with them, spend time with my 4-month-old, feed her, put her down to go to sleep, and then I come right back to the hospital," he stated.

Moore’s family started a GoFundMe earlier this week. So far, it’s raised nearly half of their $30,000 goal. His wife posted a message to social media thanking those who’ve contributed.

The father and husband is asking anyone who finds it in their heart to donate, and for those who can’t, he’s asking for continued prayers. If you're interested in donating to the GoFundMe, you can click here.