Supporting Tomorrow’s Science Today: How Dax’s Family Gives Back After Tetralogy of Fallot Surgery

For 12-year-old Dax Betkowski, the scar that marks his chest is a symbol of something special that happened when he was a baby. That something was a heart surgery that saved his life.

Dax was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot before birth. This congenital heart defect is characterized by a ventricular septal defect or a hole between the right and left chambers of the heart, as well as an enlarged aorta, narrowing of the pulmonary valve and thickening of the heart muscle. The heart does not function as it should, resulting in a reduced amount of oxygenated blood flowing through the body.

At the Children’s Heart Center, surgeons performed a surgery to repair Dax’s heart when he was just 5 months old. The Betkowski family believes that, if it weren’t for the incredibly skilled Children’s Heart Center team, Dax might not be here today, building forts in the woods and cracking jokes with his sister.

That’s why they’ve made a promise to pay it forward and proudly support the research of Michael Davis, PhD, Director of the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Heart Research and Outcomes Center. Dr. Davis and his team have set out to develop a better heart valve for kids with CHD—a valve that can grow with a child using their own stem cells, limiting the number of surgeries to one, and reducing the number of medications required. Some day, Dax might need one of these novel valves. But even if he doesn’t, his parents are driven by the hope that they can help other kids with Tetralogy of Fallot.

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