Gabriel Swope has been chosen by the Basque Foundation
Board of Directors to be the primary recipient of the funds raised at the 2013
Sheepherder’s Ball and Lamb Auction. Gabriel Swope was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart
Syndrome, a congenital condition where the left ventricle of the heat is
critically underdeveloped. Gabriel's
parents and two children literally moved to Stanford so that Gabriel could be
born in the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital, one of a few places where
surgeons perform an intricate series of open heart surgeries that saved
Gabriel's life.
The Norwood open heart
procedure was performed when Gabriel was a week old. The surgeon created a "new" aorta
and connected it to the right ventricle so that blood could be pumped to both
lungs. The second open heart surgery
called the Glenn Procedure was performed when Gabriel was six weeks old. During this time Gabriel was on a feeding
tube and critical medications. Beth, his mom had to quit her teaching job to
tend to Gabriel. Earle, his dad, is a
fireman in Boise and had to take significant time off. They never left Gabriel's side.
Gabriel, now eight months old,
has one more heart surgery when he turns three.
He will always be at risk, but with the love and support of his family
and friends he is doing well. He is a
miracle child that would not have lived if his Boise pediatrician hadn't
recognized the problem before Gabriel's birth.
Earle Swope is a cousin to John
and Norma Odiaga from Jerome. Earle's
arborglyphs of the immigrant sheepherder’s tree carvings are a part of the
Basque Museum's display--Immigrant Shadows:
Tracing the Herder's Legacy.
The family is grateful for the support of the Basque
community and the Basque Charities Foundation.
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