Liam Patrick Slattery was born on May 20, 2024. He arrived healthy, and completes our family. We anxiously packed our hospital bags to take him home to meet his two big sisters – Hailey and Ashley – and yearned for those slow newborn days at home. Just as we were leaving the hospital, a nurse noticed Liam’s lips turning blue, and moments later he stopped breathing. In the matter of a second Liam was rushed to the NICU, where we learned he was having apneic seizures. We spent the next three weeks enduring test after test, and respiratory support while his medical team grasped to find a reason why. We were sent home after being told the episodes were likely birth-related trauma.

For a short three months, Liam thrived — until everything changed again. While on a family vacation, Liam stopped breathing again. His lips turned blue, his gazed distant, and his body limp, Liam was unresponsive for 45 seconds before gasping back to life. This happened 25 times this day, which began our families three day Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) stay in Charleston, SC. He was diagnosed with epilepsy during this stay, still with no answers why. We were discharged with anti-seizure and emergency rescue medications with a disclaimer that the drugs were trial and error, and with white knuckles we embarked upon our 13-hour drive home.

One week after getting home from the PICU in South Carolina, Liam had another onset of 10 apneic seizures in under two hours. Liam was admitted to the PICU in Michigan where we agreed to genetic testing. Genetic testing revealed a life-altering diagnosis: GNAI1 Neurodevelopmental Disorder – a diagnosis he shares with less than 30 people in the world. Known symptoms include developmental and intellectual delays, hypotonia, epilepsy, and neurobehavioral challenges, and 64% of affected children remain non-verbal and 36% never attain the ability to walk.

We quickly sought every possible therapy and specialist, and starting building the best plan we could to improve Liam’s quality of life. Liam attends multiple therapies, intensives, and specialized programs that help him make slow but meaningful progress—what we lovingly call inch stones. His big sisters are his devoted cheerleaders, and our family continues to grow stronger through each challenge.

We will never stop fighting for Liam—our warrior, our joy, and our inspiration. Your support helps us give him every possible chance.