Nearly 10 years ago, Charlie was diagnosed with complex congenital heart defects while still in utero. The remaining 4 months of the pregnancy were riddled with appointments with fetal care specialists, pediatric cardiologist, pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons, neonatologists, and more. We learned that Charlie had multiple defects including a hypoplastic right ventricle and transposition of the major arteries.
Just 6 days after his birth, Charlie underwent his first open heart surgery to have an artificial shunt placed and begin the process of . Miraculously, he was discharged from the hospital at just 15 days old! However, at 9 weeks old, following an unsuccessful cardiac cath, the artificial shunt clotted and blocked all blood flow to Charlie's lungs. He was raced to the operating room and underwent emergency surgery to remove the malfunctioning shunt.
In 2017, Charlie underwent a third open heart surgery that successfully set up his blood flow to bypass one entire side of his heart!
His last heart surgery was in March 2021! He's in 5th grade, growing, thriving and looking forward to helping raise money to continue research for kids like him!
