Garrick's Broken Heart

Dear Friends, family & supporters,

We are reaching out to you today to share Garrick’s story. His story starts the day after he and his twin sister Gracie were born in 2010.

Garrick’s parents Lee and Leah Bjorklund and his older brother Gabe were told that he had a congenital heart defect. I’m sure as parents this was beyond terrifying. As doctors told them what needed to be done to fix his heart, they said they were just thankful to be at the best place in the world, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.

Garrick had his first open heart surgery at just 12 days old, then his second at 8 months old. When he was 5 years old, he had another procedure done where they put in stints and replaced a valve in his heart. Garrick has been growing well and having yearly cardiac checkups since. The hope was for these surgeries and procedures to last until his late teens or early twenties. However last month, August 2023, when Garrick had his regular cardiac checkup and tests, his parents were not prepared for what they found out. His valve that had been replaced has become calcified and has blockage, his conduit pulmonary artery has become stenotic and is narrowing. More tests and procedures have followed in the past few weeks.

The doctors have determined that Garrick will need to undergo another open-heart surgery on November 15th. They at first thought they could wait until Christmas break to do this so Garrick wouldn’t miss so much school, however the doctors did not want to wait that long. He will be in the hospital for a week to 10 days and be out of school 3-4 weeks. This is where the Bjorklund family finds themselves right now, overwhelmed, worried and scared.

Garrick’s parents both have full time jobs but unfortunately time away from work to be with Garrick while in the hospital and also time at home during his recovery means no pay for those days off. Mayo Clinic has told them that the average cost now for open heart surgery is $500,000. Their insurance will cover most of that but there will still be a substantial amount that they will be responsible for. That along with the cost of lost wages, lodging, gas, food, parking and medical bills not covered by insurance will add up very quickly. We as close friends of the family would like to gather together and find a way to help this very special family, that’s why we are starting this ‘Go Fund Me’ page for them. If you find it in your heart, any monetary amount would be so helpful during this difficult time, but we also understand that for some that is not possible. There are also other ways that you can help like preparing a meal, furnishing a ride, checking on the dog. Anything can be so helpful and much appreciated. During this challenging time, we ask for your support, love, prayers and kindly ask that you share Garrick’s journey and thank you for doing so.