Parents of a one-year-old boy who had a life-saving heart transplant are searching for the family that donated the organ.
Titus Sickles, of Toledo, Washington, was born in January 2018 with a heart defect that made it difficult for blood to throw through his body properly.
His parents, Rena and Andy, were told he wouldn't survive surgeries because his heart was so weak and he would need a transplant.
Just two months after he joined the transplant list, a donor heart became available and Titus underwent the surgery at Seattle Children's Hospital in April.
To mark his first birthday last month, his parents organized a photo shoot and are sharing it online in the hopes that the donor family will see it and they will have a chance to thank the parents for helping save their son's life.
The parents of one-year-old Titus Sickles, who had a life-saving heart transplant, are searching for the family that donated the organ so they can thank them
Titus (left and right) was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a birth defect in which the left side of the heart does not from correctly. This makes it difficult for blood to throw through his body properly
In one photo, Titus is wearing jeans and plaid suspenders, sitting next to a chalkboard.
A message on the chalkboard reads in part: 'I understand if it hurts too much to reach out to us, but I need this to reach my donor family so I can say thank you for the gift of life. I'm healthy and alive because of you!'
Rena told DailyMail.com she first knew something was wrong with Titus when she went in for her 18-week scan to find out the sex of the baby.
'When I got home, I saw that I had two missed calls,' she said.
'I remember thinking: "Either I left something in the room or there' something wrong. I already had three boys so this was not my first rodeo.
The next morning her OBGYN called her and told her Titus has hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a birth defect in which the left side of the heart does not from correctly while the baby is in the womb.
Because the left side of the heart is unable to pump oxygen-rich blood throughout the body, the right side is responsible for pumping blood to both lungs and the rest of the body.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 960 babies are born in the US every year with this defect.
Problems quickly arise soon after birth including difficulty breathing, a weak pulse, and a bluish skin color.
Sufferers may need to take medications to lower blood pressure and strengthen the heart muscles for the rest of their lives.
Surgery is another option to help restore heart function by increasing blood flow throughout the body.
However, if the defect is severe or surgeries leave the heart weak, then a heart transplant is necessary.
Titus's parents said they originally believed their son would undergo three
