Our Story

When our Son Trey was 4 years old we took him in for a physical so he can start pre-kindergarten. Our pediatrician, whom we love by the way, took his blood pressure and knew instantly something was wrong, his blood pressure was extremely high. He sent us to a cardiologist for further testing. After several tests, the cardiologist told us to have a seat, we looked at each other and knew from that moment on our lives would never be the same again. Trey was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect called Coarctation of the Aorta. Two months later Trey had his first heart surgery to repair that defect. It was one of the most difficult days of our lives. Seeing our little boy with all those tubes coming out of him was heart breaking.

Two years after that, at the age of 6 we drove to Boston to Children’s Hospital of Boston to have his second procedure done. He had a cardiac catherization done. A cardiac catheterization is a specialized procedure in which a long, flexible tube—a catheter—is inserted into a vein or artery and guided into the heart. They opted not to place a stent in at that time because of his age and size.

Trey is currently on medication to control his blood pressure, he takes a pill twice daily. He is seen yearly by his cardiologist for testing to see if any further treatment or surgeries will be needed. He also has stress tests done to see how well his heart handles sports and other activities.

If you see Trey now, you wouldn’t believe everything he’s been though. He’s a happy and energetic boy who loves life and lives it to the fullest.

As a famiy we decided to start The Trey Has Heart Foundation.