Clark family gives back with fundraisers for Ronald McDonald House

Gage Clark is a typical eight-year-old: racing snowmobiles, riding four-wheelers, helping on the farm.

It’s almost impossible to tell that Gage was born with a heart condition that threatened his life within 12 hours of birth.

The condition is called “aortic stenosis,” or a narrowing of the conduit to his heart, which would not grow with him, plus leaky valves needed replacing.

At just 12 hours old, little Gage was having trouble breathing and was rushed via ambulance to Grand Forks, and then on to Mayo in Rochester because of the seriousness of the condition.

Gage’s dad Brandon remembers that hot July day, waiting for a jet to take them to Mayo, but having to work around tornado system threatening central MN.

Finally, ten hours later, dad and son landed in Rochester, and one hour later, the medical team had placed a stent in little Gage’s heart. Mom Jessie had to wait to be released from the hospital, before she could join them at Mayo.

For more, see this week’s North Star News!