An adorable boy with a full head of dark hair, big brown eyes, and a heartwarming smile.

Before October 2015, Joey was a typical toddler. He loved books, blowing bubbles, and following his older brother William around the house. Then, at 20 months old, he was hospitalized with severe dehydration. His condition deteriorated quickly. His heart stopped.

Joey received CPR for 41 minutes and was placed on heart-lung bypass support. He survived — but the extended loss of oxygen caused a severe brain injury, known clinically as Hypoxic Anoxic Injury (HAI).

He cannot yet eat, sit up, crawl, or talk.

— on Joey’s condition today

The injury impaired Joey’s motor skills significantly. What it did not touch was his cognitive potential. Joey remains cognitively intact and mentally alert — his family and therapists describe him as bright, fully engaged, and quick to laugh.

That distinction is the reason the Foundation exists. A body that hasn’t caught up yet is not the same as a mind that’s out of reach. With the right therapy, equipment, and instruction — the very things research, innovation, and education funding can produce — his family believes Joey’s ceiling is nowhere near where his injury first suggested.