Callen Schmidt

Callen was welcomed to the world in 2019 as the little brother and a prayed for member to the Schmidt family. In the first month of life; there were weekly appointments at the doctors office trying to figure out exactly what was going on with nothing sticking out. One late night trip to the ER changed everything when Callen was transported from his local hospital to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta for enlarged heart. Within hours of arrival, Callen and his family were preparing for open heart bypass surgery on their tiny five week old baby boy. Callen surprised his family and friends with just how much determination he had to overcome an untreated Congenital Heart Defect and become the "1 in 100" babies that are diagnosed with CHD. The initial stay in the hospital lasted weeks and came with it's fair share of obstacles and rollercoaster rides of emotions. As Callen grew, so did his joy in life and the contagious laugh that quickly made those around him forget what all he had gone through. In 2023, Callen had one more surprise thrown his way when an unexpected Hydrocephalus diagnosis was found. With multiple brain surgeries to start the year, life seemed like it was yet again no match for Callen as he left 2023 behind him with the  greatest memory coming from his first season of baseball. While Callen's story isn't over yet and there are more surgeries scheduled for his future, he continues to show everyone around him how to face the unthinkable with joy and laughter; and a tiny bit of attitude and determination.