Meet Race Car Driver Dylan
Meet Dylan. This playful, car loving three and a half year old boy is a joy to Mom, Krystal, sister, Scarlett, and doting Grandparents, Laurie and Mickey. Dylan's road has had his share of bumps but his motor just keeps on roaring!
Dylan was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare, complex congenital heart defect in which the left ventricle of the heart never fully developed. The left side of Dylan's sweet heart couldn't effectively pump blood to the body, so the right side had to do extra work in order distribute blood to both to the lungs and the rest of the body. In these rare cases, a surgery is performed on day 4 or 5. Dylan had the Hybrid surgery at 4 days old. During the hybrid surgery, the cardiologist bands the pulmonary arteries and places a stent to keep the PDA (patent ductus arteriosus) open. Unfortunately Dylan, born at 37 weeks, was not a candidate for the stent due to his unique anatomy so he had to wait an additional 2 months in the NICU on prostaglandins to keep his PDA open. Dylan's family rallied behind Dylan and nurtured him until he gained the strength required for his second major surgery, the Norwood. But like his Mommy, Dylan is a fighter. Dylan had the Norwood operation at two months and the Glen procedure at six months. Now, with more challenges presenting with his heart, Dylan will face his fourth and hopefully final heart surgery - the Fontan procedure. In addition to his heart condition, has microgastrica, another rare developmental anomaly of the gastrointestinal tract with less than one hundred documented cases. Basically, Dylan's stomach is shaped differently and is much smaller than a typical stomach, making it hard for him to eat large quantities at one time. As the family gears up for this very important surgery, the Cecily's Closet team was happy to be able to provide Dylan with a special room makeover. Dylan was nominated by his pre-school teacher for a Sweet Dream Room makeover from Cecily's Closet. His teachers shared that despite all that Dylan has been through in his short life, he has remained strong and positive. They shared that he loves to play cars with his friends, and that he can name the make of a car just by seeing it drive by. Dylan loves hugs and kisses, and is super sweet to his little sister. Dylan may have a broken heart, but he has stolen all of ours. They shared that Dylan's family provides him with the love, attention and care required to reach his developmental milestones and thrive. Thank you to PaintGreen for once again providing a beautiful background for our team to build upon. The calming blue color provided the perfect color palette for the car inspired space. The team made custom art, custom bedding, and incorporated sensory and developmental elements into the design. We couldn't be more pleased with the result! Thank you to our donors and for the Rancho Santa Fe Women's Fund for enabling us to complete our 61st room makeover! |
Volunteers are the heart and soul of our operation. We were thrilled when UTC Aerospsace Systems reached out to us to see how they could help transform a little child's room.
UTC Aerospace Systems is one of the world’s largest suppliers of technologically advanced aerospace and defense products. They design, manufacture and service systems and components and provide integrated solutions for commercial, regional, business and military aircraft, helicopters and other platforms. We are so grateful for their support. This amazing team of volunteers went above and beyond! From creating a custom quilt complete with Dylan's name, to custom car art and making a traffic light that doubles as a magnetic play board! From top to bottom (new ceiling) to two new rugs, this team hit the gas and raced to a perfect finish! Thank you for your dedication, passion and commitment and for making this Sweet Dream Makeover possible for Dylan and his beautiful family. |
