Laura Ryan
Laura Ryan was the oldest of four children when her little brother, Carl, was born. The siblings were all three years apart so Laura was 12 years old when Carl was born and she also had a brother who was 6 years old and another one who was 9 years old. Unfortunately, when Carl was born, the family immediately realized something was wrong, but nobody knew how bad things were until Carl was sent to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston -- 100 miles from their home. Carl was born with a serious heart defect known as total anomalous pulmonary venous return or TAPVR. Since Laura’s little brother, Carl, was born in the 1950s, he is now one of the oldest TAPVR survivors in the United States.
