Local boy confined to a hospital bed for his birthday needs a new heart and hearts from all of you

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A Tampa Bay boy will be turning five Friday at All Children's Hospital while waiting for a new heart.

His parents say its a miracle he's made it this far and they don't know about his future but they do know how he can celebrate a fabulous milestone, but they need your help.

Like any toddler, Noah Nero likes to play, but the mask and the tubes and the IV tower are red flags that all is not right.  Noah needs a new heart - soon. Cherish, his mother, explains, “He was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome which is... basically, he has half of a heart.  He's had three heart surgeries.”

Now he's on a heart transplant list. “He has to stay in the hospital because he is dependent on IV medications.”

So Noah will have to celebrate his fifth birthday there. “Our original goal was to have a huge party, since we did meet that milestone, but we ended up here.”

But Cherish's niece had an idea. “My niece’s goal was to get as many cards as possible to help him have a birthday even though he's here and can't be around a lot of people. Let's show him there are people out there thinking about him.”

A card would be great - a dollar inside would be appreciated too - not to buy toys for Noah but to help this family survive the unanticipated expenses. Cherish explains, “The biggest issue right now is day care for our daughters. We have two girls, one younger than him, and one older.”

Mom won't leave Noah's side - waiting every second for that call - that means one family's tragedy is her son's chance at a longer life

It’s not easy to talk about. “My biggest goal is to open people's eyes to organ transplantation. It’s a really touchy subject when it comes to kids not something any parent wants to think about but as were sitting here waiting for a heart I would encourage everybody to think about that.”

If you'd like to help makes Noah's birthday special by sending him a card you can mail it to Noah Nero in care of Bill Nero, PO Box 7005, Hudson, Florida 34667.