Ezra Gael Tamez, our son, was born on April 28, 2021. Shortly after delivery, he was diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and whisked away to the pedi cardiac care unit before I even woke up from my unplanned C-section.

Throughout his 17 months of life, Ezra underwent 3 open heart surgeries — Norwood, Glen, and a Glen revision.

During his hospital stay for the third, while doctors searched for the cause of a persistent chylothorax, imaging revealed a tumor on his liver.

Further testing confirmed the worst: our baby boy had stage 3 cancer.

Ultimately because of his heart condition, we were told the very thing no parent should ever have to hear, “there’s nothing more we can do.” Our hearts shattered. Our hopes of taking him home, already a candle flickering in the dark, dimmed to a spark.

But, we never gave up.

Even as he faced a final fight against pneumonia, Ezra met every challenge with courage.

At just one and a half years old, our sweet boy was called home.

Walking each year is bittersweet for us.

Bitter is the reminder of the immense — and simply unfair —obstacles imposed on children like ours, diagnosed with congenital heart disease.

Sweet is the echo of the human spirit — its relentless pursuit of hope and a better future for our babies.

Every year, our amazing team attends this walk to honor the life and legacy of our son — a symbol of strength, resilience, and love.

We walk to express gratitude to the team who worked so diligently to preserve his quality of life.

And we walk because we still haven’t given up.

We believe that early detection, prevention, and treatment of CHD are possible and we’ll continue doing everything we can to make that a reality —

so that heart warriors can live full, joyful lives,

so they can outlive their parents,

And especially so that no parent has to hear “I’m sorry” from a medical team ever again. Thank you all for donating and/or walking with us in Ezra’s honor.