Big Bike cause hits close to home
When little Marley fainted as a toddler, her father went into panic.
It wasn’t just the fear every dad has about the health of their child but about seeing it through the eyes of a two-time survivor of childhood open heart surgery.
Andrew Rice was six months and then eight years old when he endured the major surgeries.
“I can’t imagine this kind of stuff happening to my kids after seeing what my parents went through when I was a kid,” Andrew said, looking at his two young daughters, Marley, three-and-a-half years old and Tatum, 14 months, playing under the watchful eye of mom, Michelle.
Marley fainted as a toddler when she couldn’t catch her breath and it was terrifying, Andrew said.
She’s been tested and is a perfectly healthy child, as is Tatum. The heart issue Andrew has is not hereditary.
Andrew’s dad Shawn Rice is captain of MLAs Shirley Bond and Mike Morris Heart & Stroke Big Bike team, which took a ride around the downtown core Friday afternoon. Andrew attended to show his support for the event which raises funds for the Heart & Stroke Foundation B.C. and Yukon.
When Andrew was a child he had aortic valve stenosis, which is a narrowing of the aortic valve opening. He had to have an artificial valve put in initially and when he grew out of that, he had a donor valve installed during the surgery he had at eight years old. Every September Andrew goes through extensive testing at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. Doctors have told him that eventually the valve will fail again, but for now, he’s healthy.
Getting on the Big Bike was Shirley and Bill Bond. Bill had open heart surgery in 2012.
“I’ve got a 15-year warranty on my heart,” Bill laughed.
“We’re just grateful we received phenomenal care at St. Paul’s and from all the medical professionals here who helped us understand what was happening,” Shirley said. “And of course, Heart & Stroke and the aftercare makes this ride incredibly important for us. Every time we look at our grandsons we are enormously grateful that Grandpa gets to be here. So we are very, very thankful. The Heart & Stroke Foundation provides incredible support to families so we ride because we can, to make sure that others can in the days ahead.”
Prince George has ridden the Big Bike for the last 18 years, during which 100 teams have raised more than $367,000. We are very grateful to the community of Prince George,” Adrienne Bakker, CEO, Heart & Stroke B.C. and Yukon, said as she attended the local event.