CARSON, Calif. – Amid the toughest battle of his life, LA Galaxy defender A.J. DeLaGarza has returned to training, but the 25-year-old remains focused on the predicament of his young son Luca.
Luca was born last Thursday at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles and has been at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles ever since. During that time, DeLaGarza and his wife Megan have been at the side of their first-born son around-the-clock while also being supported by immediate family and friends.
The road has hardly been an easy one for Luca who was diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, a congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is too undeveloped to provide sufficient blood flow for the body. A day after being born, Luca’s heart crashed requiring doctors to place him on life support where he has been since.
“We have our moments. Things are up and down,” said DeLaGarza. “Starting tomorrow is going to be the critical time of if he’ll be with us or not.”
DeLaGarza returned to training on Tuesday but admitted that the time wasn’t “right” for him to participate in the Galaxy’s upcoming match against the Colorado Rapids as Luca faces the most decisive day of his young life.
With an eye to Luca’s third heart surgery on Monday, DeLaGarza’s son will be weaned slowly off the life support that he’s been placed on for five of his first six days of life. If he responds positively, then he will be in good straits to have his next open heart procedure.
However, if his heart does not respond then the doctors at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles will have to decide if it is feasible to place him back on life support or allow him to pass away quietly.
“They have to take him off slowly. If he does well then they’ll move him to the next surgery, but if he does and if something happens like [on Saturday] where his heart crashed. They’ll put him back on life support if it makes sense,” said DeLaGarza. “If it doesn’t make sense then we have to let him go peacefully.
“We’re fortunate that we’ve had a week with him and we’ve been by his side the whole time. We just try to comfort him as much as possible.”
But even as he focuses on Luca’s decisive day, returning to the field provides a small respite for DeLaGarza.
“It’s not that I forget about him or anything, but my mind is focused on playing,” said DeLaGarza. “When I’m on the field, I say to myself ‘do this for him.’ When I’m feeling tired, I just keep going. He’s going through a lot worse than that.
“Hopefully on Monday, he’s going through surgery and looking bright so that I can travel and go to Montreal, San Jose and hopefully win a Supporters’ Shield for him.”
During this difficult time, DeLaGarza has received a groundswell of support across the soccer community. Whether it is an autographed FC Dallas uniform with “Luca No. 20” on the back sent by former University of Maryland teammate Chris Seitz or messages on Twitter or Instagram, the support that the DeLaGarzas have received has been constant.
Amid all the difficulties, DeLaGarza credits that support for helping to keep him going.
“Off the field, you see all the support from different teams, fans and our own organization which has been top notch with the [Luca Knows Heart] shirts that we were able to wear against D.C. United,” said DeLaGarza. “The support has been tremendous.
“I get texts and messages every day from people that I’ve never met telling me that they’re praying for my family,” he added. “I can’t do anything but appreciate them.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
