I am riding the Courage Classic this year to support babies like Kennedy, who recently had open heart surgery at Children's Hospital Colorado. In her Mom's words:
"Born on January 30, 2026, sweet Kennedy’s early days were a quiet, uphill battle as she struggled to gain the weight she needed to grow. Her parents tried everything—clipping a tongue tie, swapping endless bottles and nipples, feeding her every 2 hours, treating what they thought was severe reflux with two different medications, and even enrolling her in feeding therapy yet nothing seemed to work. When her blood work came back completely normal, she was admitted to Children’s Hospital Colorado at three and a half months old for failure to thrive, but within the very first hour of her stay, a doctor detected a heart murmur. An echocardiogram revealed two large holes in her heart (ASD and VSD) that were forcing her tiny body to work three times harder than other babies just to breathe and eat, leaving no energy left for growing. A few days later, Kennedy underwent open-heart surgery performed by Dr. Fraser to repair the holes. The operation was an absolute success; she was in the ICU for only 24 hours with no need for a breathing or feeding tube, and just four days later, this resilient little warrior was already heading home, finally thriving and gaining weight!
Today, as you pedal through the mountains for the Courage Classic, you ride with the spirit of Kennedy—a symbol of profound strength and resilience, a testament to the incredible team at Children's, and proof that even the smallest hearts can conquer the highest peaks."
