Thank you for visiting our team page! Every 15 minutes, a baby in this country is born with a congenital heart defect, making CHDs America's most common birth defect.  In 2015, Charlie was one of those babies! He was born with a rare and complex heart defect, double outlet right ventrcle (DORV) with several other defects, including a straddling mitral valve. He has had three heart surgeries and four heart catheterizations, with the most recent heart cath occurring in 2023. He is followed by a team at Texas Children's Hospital where his single ventricle heart and liver function are closely monitored. Charlie has liver disease caused by his single ventricle function and will likely need a heart and liver transplant at some point in his life. The Congenital Heart Walk is dedicated to raising funds to support The Children's Heart Foundation's mission: to advance the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of CHDs by funding the most promising research. There is much to learn and discover. Due to it's high mortality in infancy and young children,  coupled with a relatively new surgical pathway for the rarest cases like Charlie's, most people have never heard of CHD, and funding remains significantly lower for CHD research than other childhood illnesses. 

We are asking for your help! By supporting our team or joining us in our walk, you're supporting research that will help save and improve the lives of babies born, and children and adults living, with CHDs. Team Brave Hearts thanks you!