SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Blog

When college sweethearts Adam and Sara Hanks learned their first pregnancy was facing serious complications they turned to the experts at the Cardinal Glennon St. Louis Fetal Care Institute.

“Throughout all his procedures and surgeries, the Cardinal Glennon team as a whole has been and continues to be invested in making sure Charlie has the best care,” Jean says.

Charlie was born with a variant of HLHS, a congenital heart defect where there is only one pumping chamber instead of two. Blood flow to the body is limited without medication after birth, and ultimately the defect requires a series of cardiac surgeries.

“When we were first diagnosed, it felt like everything was completely unknown, we didn’t know anyone who had been there, we didn’t even know what hypoplastic left heart syndrome was,” Jean Garcia recalls.

Here are five ways in which you can support families facing childhood cancer.

Make sure your hand sanitizer is safe for your family to use, and know what to do if you think your child accidentally ingested some of the product.