Lubbock parents navigate rare heart condition for their unborn baby

LUBBOCK, Texas — First-time parents Callie and Jonathan Pearson were already experiencing a whirlwind of emotions when they found out they were expecting a baby girl in February. 

But a diagnosis would shock their family. At their 20-week scan, doctors would diagnose Aubrey with Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA) before she was born.

“Her heart – the valves are in the wrong position,” said Johnathan. “So her aorta runs to her right ventricle and her pulmonary artery runs to our left ventricle.”

Doctors told the Pearsons their daughter would need to have open heart surgery within the first days of her life.

“The surgeons will go in and actually switch those to the correct ventricles,” Jonathan said

It turned the Pearsons’ world upside down– learning all of this at their regular 20-week scan.

“Where we are going to Texas Children’s, they have a 99% success rate of babies that have TGA are successful in living a normal everyday life just like anybody without TGA,” Jonathan said. “So after we figured that out, our hearts were put at ease.”

With support from friends, family, and the community, the parents-to-be are trying to remember it’s all part of a bigger plan.

“It’s not in our control, It’s all in God’s plan,” Callie said. “It’s not gonna be like a traditional birth and so, it’s kind of trying to prepare while being unprepared, it’s pretty hard but I mean with the support of each other, it’s definitely doable.”

Callie and Jonathan wanted to thank the medical staff at Texas Tech physicians and University Medical Center for working with their family and catching the diagnosis quickly.

Callie also said while the condition is rare, she never thought it would happen to her baby girl, and for anyone who receives the same diagnosis, they’re not alone.

“Anybody else gets his diagnosis, they’re not alone and they can get through it,” Callie said.

Jonathan’s sister-in-law, Hadley, set up a GoFundMe for the family as they relocate to Houston for the next two months and rack up multiple medical bills. To donate, click here.