We're a relentless force! We are walking to honor our son Otis's journey with congenital heart disease.  Otis was born fighting on 11/6/23.  We knew he would be in for a battle after our 20-week ultrasound when he was diagnosed with dextro-transposition of the great arteries.  This diagnosis rocked our world.  His care was transferred to Denver at 37 weeks and he was delivered at 39 weeks with a team of about 20 doctors and nurses in the room.  He was found to have a restricted septum at the time of his birth and needed an emergency cath lab procedure to maintain adequate oxygenation.  He was very sick, but on 11/9/23 he had a successful repair of his D-TGA.  He was cared for by an amazing team at Colorado Children's and discharged on 11/28/23.  Soon after we arrived back in Albuquerque, Otis was found to have heart block (a complication from his procedure) and would need a permanent pacemaker to support his heart.  We waited 2 months to get the pacemaker placed to allow his heart to recover, and on 2/2/24 he received his pacemaker thanks to his Peds Congenital Team at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque.  He is catching up on developmental milestones and loves his life, which is all we ever wanted for him.  We are so grateful!

50 years ago, Otis's story would be a lot different.  Research has allowed doctors to develop the procedure (called the Arterial Switch) that saved his life. Did you know that there are no pacemakers for babies?  Few babies need pacemakers, so it is difficult to test these devices and get them approved. Otis has an adult pacemaker implanted in his belly and it has drastically improved his quality of life.  Without it, he would be too tired to eat and grow. Money raised for the AHA goes to research to benefit babies like Otis.  Thank you for your support!