“TJ” came into the world in a hurry, always ready to go, one month early of his due date, December 27, 2002. Being told through the whole pregnancy this big boy looked great and was big in size, it was no surprise he came out early with a weight of 7lbs 11oz… what was a surprise was he was not breathing and blue. TJ was born with a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot with Absent Pulmonary Valve Syndrome. TJ was emergency flown from Orlando to Tampa at 3 days old to have immediate heart surgery to save his life. He made a surprisingly strong, quick recovery and was home when he was 3-months-old. Five years later, and after numerous doctor visits, TJ had his next open heart valve replacement surgery April 2008. He made the same strong recovery and was back home riding his four wheeler with his best friend Blakey whom also just got home from having his first operation on his head regarding his newly diagnosed brain cancer. Blakey and TJ were two peas in a pod; always having their stories and hospital updates shared together with the Living The Dream Family. Angel Blakey has now earned his wings after a long and heroic fight against Brain Camcer and is watching over all of us. TJ has had the privilege of having Scottie in his life for quite some time now and he considers Scottie one of the most important and special people in his world. TJ takes Living The Dream to the extreme, never wasting one moment to live his life full speed. Although his next surgery is coming up real soon, TJ has no doubt he’ll have the same quick recovery and be back to Living The Dream as always.
