Aid Gabriel's Family During Heart Surgery Recovery

Our grandson, Gabriel Ragan, has Aortic Valve Regurgitation and will require open heart surgery to repair it. Please help his family as they deal with the extra expenses they will face. Gabe is a smart, funny, active 9-year-old who loves playing video games like most boys his age, as well as playing soccer with his friends. He especially loves watching Jimmy Donaldson (aka “Mr Beast”) and his YouTube videos. His favorite is Beast Games.

Our son Aaron Ragan Is Gabe's daddy, and unfortunately, he passed away in 2021, when Gabe was 5. Gabe is being raised by his mom, Johnnie, and his stepdad, Kyle. Both Johnnie and Kyle work full time, however, after Gabe’s surgery, they each need to take additional time off work to help him recover for a few weeks.

His surgery is called a Subaortic Membrane Resection. This requires the surgeon to open his chest and remove tissue from the muscle surrounding the aortic valve in his heart. This extra tissue has partially blocked the valve from closing, preventing the blood from flowing through the heart properly. Once the valve is repaired, the surgeon will wire his ribcage closed. This will increase the time he needs to recover, prolonging his stay in Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and increasing the time and expense of being away from work for Johnnie and Kyle.

The doctors are very optimistic about the success of the surgery, but it must be done now, rather than later. He is young and strong, and it is better to relieve the excessive pressure on his heart sooner rather than when he is older. The surgery will be scheduled to occur in late May or early June, which will give him the entire summer vacation time to recover before school starts in the fall.

The family has insurance for the surgery, but they will have a large copay of roughly $10,000 which doesnt include the aditional test that will be required during his recovery to ensure the surgey is a success. Additionally, they will have travel expenses to and from Phoenix Children’s Hospital, an over two-hour drive from their home. There will be food and hotel expenses, as Gabe will be in the hospital for around a week after surgery. And there will be lost income as they each have to take some unpaid time off work to help with his recovery over the summer. After he goes home, he will have follow-up appointments in Phoenix to check his heart which will add additional travel and co-pay expenses.

Our goal is to raise $15,000. Any support you can provide the family will be greatly appreciated and is also tax deductible. I will do my best to keep you updated on his progress. If you have questions, you're more than welcome to message me at the listed contact email. Any get well cards are also appreciated. Thank you