This year, I am dedicating my bike ride to Dean!
From Francesca (Dean’s mom): ”Dean Francisco is 17 months old. At my 20 week anatomy scan they told me Dean had CHD (congenital heart disease), at 1st they had said it was just aortic stenosis. They also told me they would not know more until Dean was born. The morning of Dec 18 2024, I had to be induced for the safety of Dean and I. Shortly after birth I had found out Dean did not just have one defect but four. Dean was diagnosed with coarctation of aorta, critical aortic stenosis, unicuspid valve as well as a rare defect called arcade-like mitral valve. Due to Deans rare diagnosis it was always in question how to best help him, due to a lot of the teams never seeing something like Dean’s arcade-like mitral valve. Dean has had 3 heart surgeries all before the age of 15 months old. He was on the transplant list for a short while just in case surgery options failed. Since birth Dean has been my calmest child, crazy yes I know lol. Considering all he's been through he has been my calmest child, he's always so happy. He's always smiling, laughing and already trying to be a jokester. You would never be able to tell just by looking at him that he's had such a rough head start in his journey. It is unknown how many more heart surgeries my Dean will have to have, eventually he will need a heart transplant in the future. In the meantime our family is blessed to still have him here earth side with us. We will continue to love Dean with all our hearts and help him in all his storms and get him through this journey we call life.”
For example, in 2025 part of the money raised was used to fund a dedicated nurse coordinator for the Single Ventricle Care Program which allows families (including Dean & his family) to coordinate complex care across multiple subspecialties, discharge home with close surveillance with their medical team, and thrive outside the hospital!
Please donate to my ride for Dean - your money will help support patients, including Dean, in the Heart Institute at Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Thank you for your support!!