SurfDog Ricochet continues her mission of working with those in need when she surfs with two critically ill teen boys in need of heart transplants on October 10 at 8:00 am at La Jolla Shores in San Diego. The event, “Waves of the Heart” will see Ricochet and the two boys surfing in tandem on the same board to signify their unified connection. This is a first.
SURF DOG RICOCHET TO RIDE “WAVES OF THE HEART” WITH TWO
CRITICALLY ILL TEEN BOYS WHO NEED LIFE SAVING HEART TRANSPLANTS
On October 10th, Ricochet will be riding “waves of the heart” with two critically ill teenage boys who will also be meeting for the first time. The boys and Ricochet will be surfing in tandem, all three of them on the board at the same time to signify their unified connection. This has never been attempted before, but they are stoked to give it a try.
Both boys are named Jacob. They are both 19 years old, born 25 days apart. They both have Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. They are both critically ill and need life-saving heart transplants. Jacob Kilby lives in San Diego, and Jacob Jumper lives in Houston.
The similarities don’t stop there. Ricochet has been involved with a lot of fate guided encounters, but this is the most serendipitous of them all. To read more about the parallels of these cosmic cousins go to http://www.surfdogricochet.com/waves-of-the-heart.html.
Both families contacted Ricochet for assistance within 24 hours of each other. As such, she immediately created a “Waves of the Heart” campaign to help raise awareness of the boy’s life threatening situations and need for organ donors. The following day, with the help of Audie Marks, Head of MADE’s Team Oliver and Hotel Indigo Del Mar she made it possible to bring the two Jacobs together for the same surf session.
Jacob Kilby underwent four open-heart surgeries between his birth in 1995 and his second birthday to try and correct the problem. But, the attempts failed, and he was given 24 hours to live. Miraculously, he received a life-saving heart transplant at the last minute. Recovery had its challenges, but Jacob was able to live a healthy, active life. But now, sixteen years later, his sense of adventure belies a devastating reality: he is facing an uncertain future of deteriorating health because he needs another heart transplant. He is currently on the lowest level of the donor waiting list.
Even though there are a lot of similarities with the Jacobs, there is one big difference. Jacob Jumper did not receive a heart transplant as a child. He grew up with a lot of health issues, and was never able to do normal things like run around or play sports. He took astronomical amounts of medication, was frequently hospitalized and spent an inordinate amount of time at doctor visits. He stopped growing at about the age of 10. He is partially wheelchair bound because of how weak he is – he can’t walk long distances without chest pain and the threat of collapsing. He needs a heart transplant too, but is not currently on the donor waiting list.
The problem for both boys is… there is an overwhelming shortage of donors. Each day, 18 people in the United States die while waiting for organ transplants. Every 13 minutes, another person’s name is added to the list of thousands who have been waiting for life-saving organ transplants. Right now, more than 120,000 patients are waiting for a transplant in the United States.
Surf Dog Ricochet hopes you can help her raise awareness by attending the surf session and sharing this story. She urges everyone to get on board and join her “waves of the heart” campaign to help lower the desperate statistics. Please give the gift of life by signing up to be an organ donor at: http://www.organdonor.gov/becomingdonor/stateregistries.html.
For more information, contact Judy Fridono at [email protected] or 707-228-0679, or Kim Weiss at (800) 851-9100 x 212 or [email protected].
8:00 AM Friday, October 10, 2014, La Jolla Shores – 8200 Camino Del Oro, San Diego, CA 92037
