When Dave met his Ironman cause for the first time this July, in mere moments she was in his arms and they were chatting and laughing like pals. Just five minutes in her presence and you are reminded what strength of character really is.

Yasenia Thomas is a sweet little 6 year old who was born with Pierre-Robin Syndrome. 1 in 33,000 children are born with it and it is usually corrected in a few surgeries. This is not the case for Yasenia. In December she had her 23rd surgery. At six weeks old she contracted MRSA because a screw was accidentally left in her jaw from a prior procedure. The infection ate the entire right side of her jaw including the hinge, and because of nerve damage that side of her face is permanently paralyzed. A few years ago Yasenia had a rib graft put in to make up for the missing bone. The graft turned, and turned her teeth sideways with it. After December's procedure she can now open her jaw semi-normally but closes it at a 90 degree angle. Yet this amazing, brave little girl remains positive and a wonderful fun-loving sister to her siblings. 

Yasenia has many more surgeries ahead of her to fix her jaw so at least she can eat normally. Her surgeon now practices in Cinncinatti and she and her family will need to temporarily relocate from South Carolina each time she has another procedure. Her next surgery will be to either put an implant in her joint to make it function or a jaw lengthening surgery. To date there has been no compensation from the hospital where she contracted MRSA, so there are out of pocket medical bills and travel expenses that are on-going.

Please help us cover travel expenses and provide a down payment for reliable transportation for the Thomas Family, as Dave dedicates Ironman Chattanooga to their beautiful little girl. You can folow Yasenia's story on Facebook here.

For more about Ride to Give and what we do, please visit ridetogive.com.