In May of 2008, Charlie was born at 35 weeks and weighed almost 6 lbs. He appeared to be a normal infant until he began to display unusual symptoms at 3 months old. He suddenly was losing weight, constantly vomiting, sweating, & breathing rapidly.

When taken to the hospital, it was detected that Charlie’s heart took up the majority of space in his chest and that the left and right sides of the heart were disproportionate. He was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect known as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Essentially, the left side of Charlie’s heart was much smaller & weaker than the right. This forced the right side (which pumps to the lungs) to overwork, thus enlarging & stretching it out.