Dean's Life Changing Surgery Journey

As many of you know, our sweet little Dean has been facing serious health challenges his entire life. For years, we’ve been searching for answers — enduring countless tests, sleepless nights, and second and third opinions. And now, at last, we have a diagnosis: tracheobronchomalacia, a condition where the walls of his airway are too weak to stay open, making it incredibly difficult for him to breathe.

This condition has been with him since birth, but it took years to understand what was really going on. Now that we finally know, we can move forward — but the next step is a major one.

Dean needs a complex, intense surgery to correct the issues in his airway. His aorta is pressing against his bronchial tube, further complicating things. Surgeons will need to move the aorta, then reconstruct both his trachea and his left bronchial tube to give him the stable, open airway he’s never had. This will be an intense 8–10 hour surgery, followed by 2–3 days in the ICU and at least a week in the hospital for recovery.

Dean is just five years old, and anyone who knows him knows he is full of personality — wild, hilarious, and absolutely unforgettable. He’s already a firecracker with limited lung capacity… and we can only imagine what kind of beautiful chaos he’ll bring to the world when he finally has full use of both lungs. That vision fills us with hope.

We’ve been given two options for this surgery, but one stands far above the rest.

Our top choice is Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, where Dr. Smithers and Dr. Jennings — the pioneers of this very surgery — practice. They’ve performed hundreds of these procedures and are considered the best in the world. We truly believe this is where Dean has the best chance at a safe, successful, and life-changing outcome.

The second option is Cook Children’s, where a skilled surgeon — trained under Dr. Smithers and Dr. Jennings — would perform the operation. While very capable, he doesn’t have the same level of experience. And when it comes to Dean’s future, we want to give him every possible advantage.

Getting Dean to Johns Hopkins means traveling out of state, staying in Florida for several weeks, and taking significant time off work — all of which come with a heavy financial burden. That’s why we’re reaching out for support.

If you feel moved to help — through a donation, airline miles, hotel points, or simply by sharing Dean’s story — we would be forever grateful. Every act of kindness brings us one step closer to giving our amazing boy the chance to breathe fully, live freely, and thrive.

Thank you for standing with us, praying with us, and loving Dean as fiercely as we do.

With all our hearts,

Simmons Family