Yahya & Timmy Tim
At the age of 4, Yahya became sick with a bad cold. As his coughing and shortness of breath worsened, his parents decided to take him to the emergency room at UPMC Children’s. After undergoing testing, Yahya was diagnosed with absence of the right pulmonary artery – a rare congenital abnormality that causes lack of blood flow to the right lung and increased pulmonary infections. Yahya underwent his first surgery to repair his heart on Halloween 2023.
In July 2024, Yahya underwent his second surgery at the Heart Institute performed by Mario Castro-Medina, MD. During this surgery, Dr. Castro-Medina corrected the defect to ensure equal blood flow to both lungs.
On the day before this surgery, Yahya’s parents took him to Build-A-Bear Workshop® to get a new friend to have during his procedure. Here, Yahya got his buddy, Timmy Tim, and put a special heart inside of him. With Timmy Tim by his side, Yahya approaches each day with bravery and strength. When he grows up, he hopes to be a doctor to help other kids like him.
Yahya’s treatment and results may not be representative of all similar cases.