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Family Of Boy Struggling After Heart Transplant Now Losing Home

BOSTON (CBS) -- The family of a little boy who is fighting to survive after a heart transplant recently got some more bad news after an already rough year. They found out their home will have to be torn down due to a mold infestation.

Five-year-old Ari "Danger" Schultz, who had a congenital heart defect, received a new heart earlier this month at Boston Children's Hospital after waiting 211 days.

Ari, 5 Years Old, Learns He's Getting a New Heart by AriEchoOfHope on YouTube

But the family is facing new challenges, and says they need help now more than ever.

It started with Ari fighting acute rejection after his transplant.

"Ari is struggling mightily," father Mike Schultz wrote on his blog Monday. "He went downhill and needed operations and procedures every day this week. On the day of procedures kids can't eat. Ari had his food and water taken away every day."

ari schultz family heart transplant losing home
The Schultz family. (Via GoFundMe)

Then, the family learned their home would have to be torn down.

It started, Mike said, with mushrooms growing behind an electrical socket. But then, he said they learned that the home's structural integrity was compromised.  One contractor said they had a "sick house."

"Home just got a little further away. For all of us," he wrote.

The family said they'll need help to build a new home for Ari and his siblings.

If you would like to donate to help the family, visit their GoFundMe page.

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