![\"Tate](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778270648_282_.jpeg\"\/)
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Sarah Hofius Hall<\/p>\n
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WVIA News <\/p>\n
Tate Engles, 3, will serve as the Northeast PA Heart Walk’s “Heart Hero.”<\/p>\n
Tate\u2019s Apgar score \u2014 a standardized assessment right after birth that looks at breathing, heart rate and other health indicators \u2014 warranted further testing.<\/p>\n
Less than 24 hours after her C-section in Scranton, Katie convinced the doctors to discharge her so she could follow her newborn to the Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
Several months later, Tate underwent successful open heart surgery to repair his heart.<\/p>\n
When the couple added Poppy to the family late last year, they learned in the hospital that she had the heart defect as well. Poppy, now 5 months, was in heart failure before having surgery in March.<\/p>\n
At their home in the city\u2019s Green Ridge section this week, Tate played on the floor and bounced from cushion to cushion on the coach. Poppy sat in her mother\u2019s arms. Earlier in the day, both kids had \u201cperfect\u201d cardiologist appointments. The siblings are expected to live normal lives without physical restrictions.<\/p>\n
About 1 in 2,041 babies in the United States are born with tetralogy of Fallot each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is no determined genetic cause, and doctors don\u2019t know why both of the Engles children have it.<\/p>\n
Connecting families<\/p>\n
After first receiving Tate\u2019s diagnosis, the Engles family didn\u2019t know where to turn for support. They connected with Scranton-based Jack of Hearts PA<\/a>, created by Donny and Lisa Scarfo, whose twin sons Jack and Nathan were born in 2008. Doctors diagnosed Jack with the same defect as the Engles\u2019 babies.<\/p>\n Lisa Scarfo poses for a photo with her sons, Nathan, left, and Jack, right, before prom this spring. <\/p>\n Lisa wanted to connect families to resources, and to each other.<\/p>\n \u201cA heart family is something you didn’t want to be a part of, but you couldn’t imagine your life without,\u201d Katie said. <\/p>\n Today, the Scarfo twins are healthy 18-year-old high school juniors. And Lisa works as a cardiac sonographer for both Geisinger and CHOP \u2014 a career inspired by her family\u2019s journey and with a desire to help more families.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving that network of Jack of Hearts families, to be able to connect those people even further is just something we’re so glad to have,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Impact at the ballpark<\/p>\n The Engles family\u2019s efforts could now save someone in a dugout or in the bleachers. <\/p>\n A \u201cToppings for Tate\u201d pizza fundraiser each year and dress-down days in the Scranton School District, where Dennis works as an administrator, help purchase automated external defibrillator (AED) machines \u2014 portable, life-saving devices used to treat sudden cardiac arrest. <\/p>\n Working with Jack of Hearts, they\u2019ve donated the devices to the Dunmore Missy League and Little Leagues in Minooka and Green Ridge.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to help families that have gone through this as much as Jack of Hearts helped us,\u201d Dennis said.<\/p>\n Last week, between a softball double-header at Abington Heights High School, the family presented an AED to players and board members of the Abington Area Girls Softball League.<\/p>\n The Engles family donates an AED machine to the Abington Area Girls Softball League during a varsity game at Abington Heights High School.<\/p>\n Coaches and community members will receive training<\/a> on how to use the device next week.<\/p>\n \u201cNot only is it there for the kids, but it’s there for grandma or grandpa, if they’re sitting on the sidelines too,\u201d Katie said.<\/p>\n Walk with the ‘heart family’<\/p>\n![\"Lisa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778270648_202_.jpeg\"\/)
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