charles’s Story

Site created on March 31, 2021


As many of you know I was born with a dented in chest that doctors call Pectus Excavatum.  We all called it Lake Charlie.  When I was younger, I would hide cookies in my chest. As I entered adulthood, I could drink a beer out of Lake Charlie with a straw.  I never felt any ill affects from Lake Charlie, although now I understand that my huge distain for long distance running (and why I chose to be a goalie in soccer) came from my body's inability to expand my lungs when exercising. Therefore; I was at a disadvantage when running long distances.


As I matured (have gotten older), I began to struggle more with activities in high altitude.  This has progressed to the point where I can no longer fly to go snow skiing. Instead I have to drive, and I still feel out of breath. I drive, rent an oxygen machine and am on oxygen 75 percent of the time we are in Colorado. When I told my doctors about this, they said it was time that I looked into getting Lake Charlie fixed.


After much research, we have decided that Dr. Dawn Jaroszewski (known as Dr J) at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ is the best specialist to do the surgery.  She will be performing the Nuss procedure on April 6th. If all goes well, I'll be back home on April 15th.

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.

Newest Update

June 24, 2021

Journal entry by charles hargis —

Here is a quick update on how my recovery is going. I am officially off all prescription medicine and have been able to manage with just Advil and some muscle relaxers. Wake surfing hasn’t happened yet, but over the past several weeks I have been able to throw the baseball with Cameron and catch at his pitching lessons. 
This season of life has been a great opportunity to talk with the kids about this broken world and how our hope can only in found in the work of the Lord through His Holy Spirit and Jesus.
It’s crazy to be at the point where my next X-rays aren’t until October 6th. 
Thank you to all of you who have continued to pray for me and my family during this recovery. 
All praise and honor and glory to God. 
Graciously in His grip - Charlie. 
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