There’s a couple in Long Island New York named Rob Foley and Lauren Kiefer-Foley. And back in 2011, their son Jack was born with half a HEART.
He has a rare condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, where one side of your heart doesn’t develop in the womb. Without surgery, it’s fatal. And their doctors suggested terminating the pregnancy. But Rob and Lauren decided NOT to do that.
Jack had his first heart surgery four days after he was born . . . another one at four-and-a-half months . . . and a THIRD open-heart surgery when he was two-and-a-half .
Now he’s six, and should be done with surgeries for a while. He might need a heart transplant when he’s older. But he basically has the life of a normal six-year-old, and his doctors want him to be as active as possible.
He does get winded faster than other kids, but loves sports. So he plays ice hockey . . . and just completed his first children’s TRIATHLON last month.
It involved swimming the length of a pool . . . riding his bike around a park . . . and running the length of about one-and-a-half footfall fields.
Jack’s uncle was a firefighter in New York who died on 9/11. And he completed his first triathlon two days before it happened. So the whole thing is pretty significant to his family. And they posted a photo of Jack posing with his arms up, just like his uncle did after his triathlon. (CNN / Daily Mail)
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