This year our little cycling team rides in memory of a special, brave little boy named Tobias Grein. The following is a summary of Tobias’ journey, as written by his parents…
Tobias Grein was born April 9th, 2016 to Daniel and Kelsey Grein of Fort Lupton, CO. He was born at Presbyterian St Luke’s, as a premature baby, a “24 weeker”. He weighed 1lb 9oz and was given a small chance of survival after birth. He spent 109 days in the NICU of PSL under the care of many Doctors and Nurses. We were able to bring our little guy home in August of 2016 but he became ill and was admitted to Children’s Hospital. He was placed in the NICU for a week when they discovered that he had pulmonary hypertension. This began our journey with Children's Hospital Pulmonary and Cardiac teams. He saw these teams regularly for the next four years and they became part of our family. Tobias’ Drs went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed for his care. This included assistance with insurance, medications, and navigating the healthcare system. These were extremely stressful things that they eliminated from our daily lives.
During Tobias’ many visits to Children’s Hospital these included many overnight stays for procedures. He underwent 4 cardiac cath labs, tonsillectomy, hernia repair, sleep studies, emergency room visits, multiple imaging sessions, and many more. We spent a lot of Tobias’ life in Children's Hospital and we always had the most professional and caring staff helping our son. The staff genuinely loved our son and worked diligently to provide a better quality of life for Toby. Unfortunately, on June 4th, 2020, Tobias would undergo his last medical procedure at Children’s Hospital. He was having his 4th heart cath to determine if his pulmonary hypertension was improving. During the procedure he suffered a brain aneurysm unrelated to the cath surgery. Tobias underwent emergency brain surgery and we were told that he was not going to survive based on the pressures within his brain. That evening our family had to say goodbye to our youngest child.
Since Tobias passed we still receive cards, family invitations, and support from Children’s Hospital. We will always have a special place in our heart for the many who cared for Toby. Words cannot express our gratitude for everything that was done for our family and Toby. We are honored to have the Lupton Peddlers riding in memory of our son.
The Greins
To donors and potential donors toward our team’s fundraising goals…
While we never lose hope, we acknowledge that not all our kids will have the fairy tale endings we desire. Though we are saddened when we lose a child, we know that because of your generosity, the staff at Children's Hospital did everything they could to improve Tobias's quality of life, and his family received the emotional and financial support they needed on this difficult journey.
As usual, all funds we raise will go to help support Children’s Hospital of Colorado. Thank you for considering making a donation to our team!
Thank you,
The Lupton Peddlers