The Brezzi 500 5K – Raising Funds for A Little Girl with a Big Need

This 5K isn't like any other 5K, this one is very close to my heart. My niece Brezziana was born with a condition that she will need countless surgeries for up until the age of 14 and she needs our help.

Brezziana Zapata is a tough little two year old from Las Cruces who has already had major surgery to correct a condition called Craniosynostosis. Craniosynostosis is a condition in which one or more of the fibrous sutures in an infant skull (the soft parts on a baby head) prematurely fuses by turning into bone. This in turn changes the growth pattern of the skull. It was first noticed by her Grandma Tina as soon as she was born and brought to her doctors attention. Immediately from being born at Mountain View Hospital in Las Cruces, NM, she was sent and flown to El Paso to Providence Children's Hospital for further evaluation. It was here she spent time in the NICU until doctors gave Brezzi's mother the word that she will need to go to San Antonio for a major surgery.

At only 6 months old she had this abrasive, 9 hour long surgery in San Antonio and came out a little warrior! Her condition was so severe, more than any other case they have seen, the surgeons actually cut her skull from ear to ear, removed her skull and had to totally reconstruct her orbital area and skull structure. This had to be done earlier in her life when usually babies born with this condition don't usually get it until later because there was pressure on her optic nerve which could have caused her to go blind later in life. During the long surgery she lost all her body's blood twice and had to have countless blood transfusions.  She will need corrective surgeries throughout her life until about the age of 14.

Since then, she has had countless doctor’s visits, procedures, eye appointments, hearing appointments and so on. She uses glasses, which she will need to change prescriptions frequently at once every 6 months and now just got fitted for hearing aids. During these times Brezzi and the family have to travel to El Paso, Albuquerque and San Antonio to visit her specialists. Any monetary donation the family acquires is used for her medical expenses and medical trips. It’s not cheap or easy to travel to these places but it’s all for a great cause in the journey for Brezzi’s continued health. This is where the fundraisers come into play. Her next trip to San Antonio is coming up March 18th to meet with her cranial surgeons team, neurosurgeons, audiologist, ear nose and throat specialist and a genetics team. The genetics team wants to do a study on Brezzi's Craniosynostosis since it is unlike any other case they have ever seen.

I have put together a few fundraisers as this is becoming financially stressful on our family. Our first fundraiser is a door donation fundraiser at Halo's Ultra Lounge in Las Cruces on February 25th. All proceeds at the door will go to Brezzi's medical fund, so please join us if you can!  I have also put together a 5k race in Las Cruces, properly named The Brezzi 500 5K. March 12th is the tentative date for the race at The Field of Dreams in Las Cruces. Please join us for these fundraisers as we try to help Brezzi on her medical journey. If you cannot make it out and find it in your heart to donate, you can at her GoFundMe page. Thank you for your generosity in advance!