On July 19th, I will be riding in the Courage Classic in honor of a very special little heart warrior by the name of Rafael. Rafael was only a few days old when he underwent open heart surgery to repair a congenital cardiac anomaly called transposition of the great arteries. Rafael demonstrated incredible strength and resilience from his very first day of life, onwards, and I couldn't be more honored to ride for him. Please consider donating to support heart warriors like Rafael. Thank you for considering
Rafael's story shared from his family:
"When Rafael was born the moment of celebration quickly turned to worry at a small hospital up in the mountains. His struggle became apparent and thanks to a quick-thinking ultrasound specialist a fetal echo revealed Rafael’s life threatening rare and congenital heart defect: d-Transposition of the Great Arteries (d-TGA).
Rafael’s parents spent a long night and day waiting for the weather to clear the way for a Flight for Life mission to transport him out of the mountains and to Children’s Hospital Colorado. In the air with the mobile NICU onboard the flight nurses coordinated with ground crews and CHCO. The moment CHCO took Rafael into their care, his parents knew he was exactly where he needed to be.
At Children’s, Rafael was surrounded by an extraordinary team. He was stabilized and, at just five days old, underwent life-saving open-heart surgery: the arterial switch operation (ASO). Thanks to the world-class care of the cardiology team and the many doctors, nurses, and therapists who treated him like their own, their little miracle made it through. Rafael spent just over three weeks inpatient, during which time he experienced not only expert medical care, but deep compassion, dedication, and a level of humanity his family will never forget."
