Sealy, Texas– 7 month-old Talan Holmes was bundled up, playing, clapping and occasionally napping in the pavillion of a Houston area country club. Meanwhile, volunteers were organizing as golfers walked in from a cold round of golf on a rare freezing day in Houston. The little boy was curiously observant, but unaware that all of the activity was all aimed at making his life better.

Talan is different than other infants. He was born without a right arm, without a right lung and had a hole in his heart. Talan’s right leg also has several abnormalities and will require a below the knee amputation before his first birthday. It’s enough to break your heart, but his smile manages to keep any bad thoughts at bay.  

On this chilly day in southeast Texas, more than a hundred people have come together to donate time and money to the Talan Holmes Charity Golf Tournament to help with Talan’s mounting medical expenses.

His parents, Devin and Courtney, had no idea about any of his medical issues until his birth. “We had no indication, all of his ultrasounds looked normal,” said Devin  as he held his smiling son. “So far we have had no medical reason or explanation about his issues.”

Talan has already undergone numerous treatments and surgery for the hole in his heart. He is now scheduled for an amputation on March 15th, a surgery that will give young Talan a chance to walk with a prosthesis around the same time an able bodied child would walk.

“The alternative is that we don’t amputate and doctors say he might not learn to walk until he is nearly 6 years old, which would hold him back developmentally,” added Devin.

While it seems like the Holmes family has found solutions to young Talan’s medical challenges, those solutions come at a cost. Both parents have medical insurance, but it’s not nearly enough to cover his mounting medical expenses or long term care.

Houston-based Limbs of Love has been proud to partner with the family as they work to raise money for Talan’s future. Limbs of Love is a non-profit organization founded in 2008 to help provide limbs for amputees in need.

“This child is going to need many, many prosthetic devices in his life and a lot of medical care. We thought this was a wonderful way to help a young amputee in need,” said Leslie O’Donnell, Communications Director for Limbs of Love.

As the day came to an end, the golfers turned in their score cards, awaited raffle prizes and ate a well deserved dinner, but Talan took no notice. Like any other little boy, he was simply excited by the sights and sounds of the action, not knowing that he would be better off because of the men and women who came out to play 18 holes on a chilly Friday in February.