LT's Crew was created in 2019, the year our oldest son Liam was born. Liam Theodore, born 1/15/19 was diagnosed with Pulmonary Atresia, a congenital heart condition where the pulmonary valve never develops or fails to open properly. His CHD was dectected at 23 weeks when I had my first fetal echo. Needless to say, hearing that our first child had a significant problem with his heart which would require almost immediate intervention after birth was one of the hardest things we had to endure. Our joy and excitement for our baby quickly turned to fear and uncertantiy.  Fortunatley, we had the support and comfort knowing that we were in the best hands at UPMC Children's Hospital. Their Heart Institute is one of the best cardiac programs throughout the U.S. and we were lucky enough to have them in our "backyard".

At the time of Liam's diagnosis, I was working at UPMC Children's Hosptial, ironcalliy enough, on the cardiac floor- some may call this a blessing, but for me it was a curse. Knowing that in a few short months, my child would be on that floor, undergoing procedures, and surgery just like the little ones that I care for. It instantly became a hard and fast look into what our reality would look like. I was terrified what our future would look like, as I am sure many of our families on the cardiac floor would say the same. Now, a little over 5 years later, I can see just how lucky I was and how much my knowledge and experience helped us nagivate being heart parents. 

Liam is a thriving 5 year old who loves all things boy- dirt, monster trucks, bugs, and sports. He has suprised us in more ways than one. He has had 2 cardiac caths, both done when he was one month old and he had his first open heart surgery at 3 months old. He has been seen by his cardiologist yearly for check ups and so far, he has been doing really well. We continue to encourage him to play and be active and have been able to have conversations about his heart, and how he has a "special heart." 

Being involved in The Children's Heart Foundation has been really special to us. Liam is now at the age where he can remember the walks and always asks when the next heart walk will be. The improvements made for CHD has just started happening over the last 30 years and it is only possible because of research. Everyday, we learn more and more about CHD and having the proper funding is so crucial for these heart kiddos. 

Thank you for visiting our team page, LTs Crew. We hope you consider dontating this to amazing cause and help other kids like Liam. 

Christina and Evan (parents)