Meet Ty. He life shares with his grandma, Sue, and is part of Citizen Care’s Life Sharing program. Ty loves WWE wrestling especially going to the show when they’re in town, he is an Uno player extraordinaire and enjoys a good game night, loves horror movies and anything scary, enjoys a good binge watching TV session with his grandma, volunteers regularly in the Pittsburgh area, is a stellar employee at PPG Paints arena, and advocates for himself and others as a member of Citizen Care’s Voices For Change advocacy group.
Ty lives with Marfan Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects the body’s connective tissue, the material that supports your organs, blood vessels, bones, skin, and more. Because connective tissue is found throughout the body, Marfan Syndrome can impact many areas, including the heart and blood vessels, bones and joints, eyes, lungs, and skin. In Ty’s case, its biggest impact is on his heart health resulting in 7 heart surgeries over his lifetime.
This condition affects men and women equally and occurs across all ethnic backgrounds. It’s estimated to occur in 1 in 10,000–15,000 people. To learn more about Marfan Syndrome visit https://marfan.org/.
