Meet Ripley

Ripley was born with a congenital heart defect and spent the first week of his life in UCSF’s Intensive Care Nursery. A month later, he returned for open heart surgery to repair the defect, known as Tetralogy of Fallot, which reduces the heart’s ability to pump oxygenated blood to the body. He is part of a Cardiac MRI study at UCSF that is exploring the risks of brain injury in babies with congenital heart disease.

"We feel so blessed to have state-of-the-art medical technology, fantastic care, and world-renowned services a drive away from our home," says his mother, Shannon. "UCSF provides the standard of care that we wish for every family managing a challenging diagnosis. We have hope, health, and a fantastic trajectory due to the care that Ripley received as an infant."