April 15, 2026

For many, the reality of becoming a parent is a roller-coaster ride chock-full of emotions, not the least of which is anxiety. Adding twins into the equation only amplifies those feelings of uncertainty. 

Now imagine a doctor walking into the room to reveal something is wrong. That was the reality Eric and Eileen Pitts faced in late 2017 when a fetal echocardiogram showed that one of their twins, Charlie, had a single ventricle anomaly, dextrocardia and heterotaxy. In layman’s terms, the right ventricle of Charlie’s heart is too small, and his heart is on the right side of his chest instead of his left. The congenital heart defect means his heart is not pumping blood to his lungs as it should. 

It was a sobering diagnosis for the pair of soon-to-be parents. 

“It was very, very scary,” Eileen said. “They laid out a plan for us of how they could help him, but there are no guarantees. … There were a lot of tears, a lot of trying to talk myself through it. ‘It's going to be OK. We are getting him all the help we possibly can. We're going to make it through this.’ But it's a lot. They can tell you everything they can and can prepare you as much as they can, but you cannot prepare yourself for what actually happens.”

Charlie and his twin brother, Robbie, were born March 9, 2018. The execution of well-laid plans began immediately for Charlie, who had two open-heart surgeries in the first four months of his life and three open-heart surgeries in three years. With two additional general surgeries due to complications, Charlie has had five surgeries in total, plus countless hours in hospitals for heart catheterizations, tests and scans. 

Today, Charlie is 8 years old. Watching him play with his twin brother, one would have no idea what Charlie has been through. Outside of scars on his chest and some slight athletic limitations for precautionary reasons, Charlie is just a normal boy enjoying school and sports. 

“We call him ‘One Speed’ because he doesn’t stop,” Eric said. “I mean, he’s just running, roller staking around the house, playing hockey in the house, doing whatever he’s wanting to do.” 

To see and enjoy their two boys being, well, boys isn’t lost on the Pittses. It took modern advancements in medical science, a team of doctors at the peak of their profession, and the love and support of family and friends to get to this point.

It also required the generosity of blood donors. Through the various surgeries and recoveries, Charlie has received 17 blood transfusions. 

“When you go back through everything he’s been through, that’s when it really starts to hit you,” Eileen said. “Like, wow, there were 17 people who contributed to keeping my baby alive. And they don’t know that; they have no idea. But without those 17 people, we might be in a totally different situation.” 

Eileen and Eric had donated blood prior to Charlie’s need, but their family’s experience has given them new perspective. Approximately one in 100 children are born with a congenital heart defect. Many of them will need the support of blood donors. 

Having been in and out of hospitals for much of Charlie’s youth and meeting pediatric patients and their families, it puts into scope the one in four who will need a blood transfusion in their lifetime.

“In Charlie's situation with the congenital heart disease, it's one in 100, so that's a lot of babies that are going through the same thing he needs that may have 17 transfusions, that may have 30 transfusions,” Eric said. “Just a little bit of your time to donate, to know that it's going to something that is going to help these little babies that need it, they can't do it themselves … that means the world.”

Eileen points to the universal moral code of loving your neighbor when she thinks about the importance of blood donation. 

“Part of loving your neighbor is giving of yourself,” Eileen said. “What more could you give than your blood to help save somebody?”