𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐥: 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐧

Listen as Julie shares her son Evan with us. Julie did not know she was pregnant until she went into labor at a MedExpress. Since she had never had any pregnancy symptoms and no prior prenatal care, doctors estimated she was around 30-32 weeks when she went into labor. After arriving at the hospital, Evan was was diagnosed with HLHS, a rare genetic condition in which the left side of the heart is underdeveloped. In this type of condition, a minimum of 3 surgeries are needed within the first 2 years of life in order for survival. They were told that a majority of children with this condition do not reach their 18th birthday. Evan also had a leaky tricuspid valve so the cardiologists at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh weren't able to offer surgery to correct it, meaning that his condition would ultimately end in death either by leaving him on the ventilator or removing life support. Julie and her husband made the difficult decision to remove life support, so that Evan would no longer be in pain.