At Jen and Josh’s 20-week prenatal appointment, they learned that one of their twin boys would be facing some challenges. Matthew, who goes by Matty, had a serious heart defect, called Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), a rare condition caused by a combination of four congenital heart defects that create difficulties with breathing. The family was immediately referred to Children’s Hospital Colorado and had cardiology appointments every two weeks until the boys were born at 30 weeks in May 2022.

Jen had been admitted to Children’s Colorado five days before they were born but was airlifted to UCHealth for an emergency c-section due to pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy complication that can be deadly. On top of the heart problems Matty was facing, doctors quickly learned his esophagus wasn’t connected to his stomach; it had an abnormal connection to his trachea. Matty was diagnosed with a condition called tracheoesophageal fistula esophageal atresia, or TEF/EA, which was causing his tiny body to fill up with air. Shortly after the twins were born, Matty was rushed to Children’s Colorado to have emergency surgery to correct his TEF/EA.

At just 1 day old, Joey, Matty’s twin, moved to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Children’s Colorado, where he was reunited with his brother. For three months, Joey stayed by Matty’s side, as both boys grew and got stronger every day. Although Joey didn’t have as many complications as Matty, he was having challenges eating.  Joey eventually learned how to eat and went home. Then, when Matty was 4 months old, he had open-heart surgery to fix his heart defect. Once Matty recovered, after a combined 290 days in the hospital, the twin boys were both finally home. Although Matty’s initial heart surgery helped, he is still followed closely by the heart, pulmonology, digestive health, and ear nose and throat team at Children’s Colorado. His doctors have collaborated with experts across the country for his care, including providers in Boston, where Matty recently had another surgery.