We are overjoyed to introduce you to our beautiful son, Titus Allen Gallegos, born on October 31st. The journey to bringing him into our lives has been filled with joy, unexpected challenges, and just incredible reminders of God’s presence.
On Saturday, we received a call about a baby boy who needed loving parents, and without hesitation, we knew the answer was "yes." By Monday, we were in Tampa, meeting Titus for the first time. He was being cared for in the NICU, working through substance withdrawal and managing a heart condition (tetralogy of Fallot) that will eventually require surgery. Though this news initially rocked us extremely hard, we felt comforted by God’s hand in each part of this journey thus far.
Titus showed signs of improvement on Tuesday, but unfortunately, he had a rough day yesterday, and his heart condition worsened. The hospital in Tampa wasn’t equipped to provide the level of care he needed, so he was transferred to Orlando via helicopter while we traveled close behind him. We’re now with him in the Pediatric Cardiac NICU in Orlando, and he’s receiving around-the-clock care. This morning, the cardiologist will speak with us, and there’s about a 50% chance he may need open-heart surgery later this week. We’re praying for improvement, but at this point, it could go either way.
We’re also trying to navigate the complexities of the legal and social work system to prepare for an emergency transfer out of state if needed. If it’s determined that Titus requires surgery this week, our goal is to bring him to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, which is the top hospital in the country for his specific heart condition. For now, though, he is in good hands in Orlando, surrounded by the resources and medical expertise he needs.
We’ve had many moments that confirm that we are meant to be Titus's parents. Leesie’s background as a Pediatric Cardiac ICU Nurse at Dell Children's, where she cared for children in situations exactly like Titus’s, feels beyond coincidence. From the very beginning, she was equipped with skills and an understanding of this situation. On our first night, the hotel concierge shared his own story of being adopted and needing life-saving surgery as a newborn, supported every step by his adoptive parents. Hearing his story was a reminder that God brought us here for a reason, even if we can’t fully understand it yet.
Looking back, it even feels providential that we didn’t know about Titus’s heart condition until we arrived. In full honesty, we’re not sure we would have had the courage to say “yes” if we had known all of this beforehand. But now that we're here, we know without a doubt that he is our son, and God prepared us in ways we never realized.
The love and support from our family, friends, and church community has been overwhelming. Right now, what we truly need is prayer—prayer for strength, for Titus’s healing, and for God to perform miracles in our little man's life. We know we aren’t strong enough on our own to face this, but we are confident that God is holding us up, and that the Holy Spirit is giving us discernment, every step of the way.
We’ll continue to share updates as we know more, and we can’t wait for the day we bring Titus home to meet everyone who already loves him so dearly. Thank you for being a part of our journey.
We’re taking things hour by hour and feel blessed beyond measure by our support system. Thank you for following our journey here; I’ll be posting updates as we go, which makes it easier for us to stay connected with everyone.
Above all, we are thankful for your prayers and support. We know we aren’t strong enough on our own, but God is, and He is holding us up through every moment.
With all our love, Anthony & Leesie
Titus is having a rough day. He has had two “tet spells” meaning his oxygen levels dropped to a dangerous level due to his little heart working overtime and mixing blue and red blood due to his Tetralogy of Fallot condition. The team here jumped on it in seconds to provide him support and he is now comfortable again. Unfortunately, this is a sign of decline so, they are going to proceed and perform the stent procedure this afternoon. Please pray for guidance, steady hands, and wisdom for the team here as they operate on Titus this afternoon. We are scared and anxious, I will not lie, but I know that it’s going to be okay. I saw this painting in the hospital lobby and it eased my anxiety.
Yesterday was a good day. Leesie and I started the morning focused on navigating the ICPC state approvals to see if we could get Titus out of the state of Florida earlier than usual due to his complex medical needs. Typically, an adopted newborn can’t leave the state until after discharge, but with Titus’s situation, we’ve been advocating for every possible option. We also began working with our insurance company to see if we could get approval for Titus to be transported by jet with an ICU team to Houston for what we initially thought would be a full-repair procedure early next week. While the physicians were finalizing their plans, Mom and Dad were hard at work pushing through the adoption, legal, and insurance systems to make sure Titus can get the best possible care. It’s an extremely complicated process, but we’ve been pushing hard on this front. I was having flashbacks of scenes from the movie John Q where the father takes drastic measures showing he would do anything to save his son. I now understand what that feels like. All in all, after we spoke with the medical team, it turns out that the immediate transfer will not be plausible (or needed) after all, but that’s okay. This ends up being a good thing overall and is explained further below.
Titus had a good day overall—his stability remained consistent, and he did really well on some of his bottle feeds! The cardiology team started him on Prostin and Caffeine to open up his PDA (a blood vessel that usually closes shortly after birth) to prepare him for the next steps in his treatment plan. However, this morning we received the news that the PDA did not successfully open so the care team will proceed with a different route and stop the previously mentioned medications.
The surgeon spoke with us, and we now have a solid plan of action. Titus will undergo a procedure early next week to place a stent in his heart, which is the “temporary fix” option. This will allow him to grow and gain strength for a full-repair surgery in about four months. Although we initially hoped for a single procedure, the team here decided that Titus is just too small for the full-repair surgery right now. While the stent is temporary, this approach allows us to safely bring him to Texas Children’s Hospital in December to establish his care there, with the full repair planned for early 2025. So, our roadmap for now looks like this:
1. Keep him stable over the weekend.
2. Perform a stent procedure early next week as a temporary solution.
3. Recover here in the Pediatric Cardiac ICU for about 2-3 weeks.
4. Take him home.
5. Head to Texas Children’s in December to prepare for the full repair.
Last night, Titus did have a few desats (where his blood oxygen levels dropped), but the team here was on it right away. They’re doing another heart echo today to check for any changes over the past 48 hours. The focus today is keeping things quiet for him, with no bottle feeding or moving around, to avoid any drops in his levels.
Leesie and I are in good spirits and even treated ourselves to some Starbucks this morning after a restful night. I’m turning on College Gameday and introducing Titus to the glorious world of college football—kicking it off by introducing him to the great Lee Corso, of course! We’re looking forward to watching the Coogs take on Arizona later tonight and LSU’s big game against Alabama this evening. I have a feeling Titus is going to be my little college football buddy.
Another big blessing: Leesie has officially started her maternity leave, which means she can set work aside and focus on being a mom.
We’re also incredibly grateful for our friends from our church and my dad, who have stepped in to help us back home. When we had to drop everything to get to Florida last weekend, our friends stepped up and took over with everything from caring for Belle and Pacey, bringing over newborn items (we literally only had a car seat and a stroller), watching our house, and just easing our minds. God hand-picked these friends and put them in our lives in this season because he knew we would need them. We are just so thankful for The LeBaron’s, The Moyer’s, The Harter’s, and the McMahon’s. Also, now that we know our stay here will be longer, my dad is flying to Nashville to take care of the house and the dogs for us as long as needed. We couldn’t be more thankful for his support and willingness to pick up and head to Tennessee for a few weeks.
We’re praying for another good day for Titus and taking everything hour by hour. Thank you all for following along and for your continued prayers. We truly feel them with us every day.
God Bless,
Anthony & Leesie
Titus had a significantly better day yesterday! From the moment we arrived at the Pediatric Cardiac ICU in Orlando early Thursday morning, it was clear that he would be much more comfortable and stable here. This unit is much better equipped to manage his complex care, and he responded almost immediately. His oxygen levels stayed consistent all day, and he even started feeding from a bottle for the first time! Right now, he’s taking about 10-20% of his nutrition by bottle—a huge improvement from the 0% he was taking in Tampa. He also had a mini procedure yesterday where they placed a PICC line allowing easier and more secure access for medication administration and an access point to pull blood for labs.
As for his open heart surgery, it’s looking like it will definitely take place sometime early next week. Right now, there are two options on the table:
- BTT Shunt: A more temporary solution, which would mean he’d need the second surgery, a Transannular Patch Repair, in a few months.
- Transannular Patch Repair: This approach is longer-term, allowing him to have a complete repair. He would need another surgery later in life, likely in his late teens.
The surgeon here is evaluating which procedure he feels is best and whatever is safest for Titus’s little heart. We’re praying for wisdom and clarity as this decision is made.
Regarding our efforts to transfer Titus to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston for the surgery, we’re still navigating the legal and social work complexities and advocating for what we feel is best for him. I won’t bore y’all with all of the nitty-gritty details here, but I will say that we’ve been able to see and experience firsthand just how broken, complicated, and challenging the adoption system is in America. It’s crystal clear to us that policy changes and reformation are needed and it’s lit a fire under us to advocate for change, but that’s a story for a different day. All in all, we’re making a little bit of progress on that front, but nothing to note as of yet.
To end on a positive note, we secured a room at the Ronald McDonald House here at the hospital last night, which was a huge blessing and answered prayer. Having a stable place to stay means no more hotel-hopping, and both Leesie and I finally got some much-needed rest last night. We woke up feeling refreshed, ready to face the day, and full of gratitude for all the support, encouragement, and prayers from all of you.
Thank you again, truly, for being with us on this journey.
God Bless,
Anthony & Leesie
