We ride to give hope to Children's Hospital Colorado patients like Caleb.

Caleb had his first MRI when he was 1 day old. His surgery and neonatology teams were hopeful they could remove the vascular anomaly after 6 months, when he was bigger. But Caleb had other plans.

At home, Caleb stopped eating and began making sounds like he was in pain. Back at the hospital, more tests revealed that the vascular anomaly had grown and wrapped around his small intestine, creating a partial bowel obstruction. At 2 weeks old, he needed immediate surgery.

Luckily, Dr. Anne Kulungowski, a vascular anomaly surgeon, had been following his case since the 28-week ultrasound. She and pediatric surgeon Dr. Jennifer Bruny performed the successful surgery on then-tiny Caleb.

Caleb threw Liz and I a few more curveballs, like a severe dairy allergy. But at this point, it was nothing we couldn’t handle with the help of Children's Hospital nurses, neonatologists and NICU dietitians.

Liz and I were humbled by Caleb's resiliency, strength and joy.

The Courage Classic is not only a personal challenge, but also an opportunity to support positive outcomes and healthier futures for children.