On Sunday October 15th, 2017, we met our first born son, Saverio Francesco Perri, Jr., 7lbs. 15oz at 10:18am. 
After a beautifully healthy pregnancy and birthing experience, we were completely blindsided by the devastating news that our little Sammy was born with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) called Dextro-Transposition of the Great Arteries or (d-TGA). Ultrasounds never detected this, and our doctors had no idea, so we inevitably had no clue what was coming our way.

After the necessary tests were done following Sammy's birth, the doctors notified us that our baby would need immediate surgery, but was fighting to remain strong enough to be transported to a hospital equipped to perform his heart surgery.

With d-TGA, the two main arteries carrying blood out of the heart were switched.
Oxygen-poor blood from the body enters the right side of the heart. But, instead of going to the lungs, the blood is pumped directly back out to the rest of the body through the aorta. Oxygen-rich blood from the lungs entering the heart is pumped straight back to the lungs through the main pulmonary artery.

Our son fought extremely hard, but after many hours of fighting, he couldn’t fight anymore. Sammy will forever remain in our hearts and be our little angel looking down upon our entire family

1 in 3,300 babies born in the U.S are affected with this particular defect.
By raising awareness, especially for early detection, we can help others born with this or any CHD have a fighting chance to live a long healthy life.

So please:

(1) Register for our team! 

This will be a Virtual Walk so you can join us from anywhere you choose to walk! 

Click Join Lizanne and Sam’s Team on the right side of this page.   ( You May have to turn your phone sideways ) 

(2) Donate to our team! 

(3) Share our page and let your friends and family know that all funds raised will go to benefit CHD research and other much needed programs and tests.

Thank you for your support.

Lizanne and Sam Perri