St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital Cardiac Patients Reunite for Celebration

Whether it’s been months or years since they’ve undergone a cardiac procedure, all congenital heart defect patients share one common bond: the gift of life. On Saturday, May 20, 2023, dozens of St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital’s heart patients and their families came together as one special group to reunite with the caregivers who helped save their lives and to fellowship with other families who share similar experiences. 

Among the patients who attended the special celebration at the Glazer Children’s Museum was 5-month-old Jaxon, who was born with critical pulmonary stenosis, a heart defect which prevents the pulmonary valve from controlling the flow of blood from the heart to the lungs. The condition was diagnosed while Jaxon was still in the womb, and the fetal and perinatal cardiologists in the Patel Children’s Heart Institute at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital monitored the health of both mom and baby throughout the pregnancy. 

Jaxon spent 27 days in St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU), several of them hooked up to a machine that provides cardiac and respiratory life support. 

“We absolutely loved reuniting with the doctors and nurses that saved our son’s life, as well as getting to know other families that are going through the same thing,” said Jaxon’s mother, Lauren Giammarco. “We are so grateful to St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital’s cardiac team for organizing the reunion. We’ve all been through so much, but this event gave us an opportunity to celebrate our heart warriors.”