Fort Worth ISD second-grader with rare heart condition honored as hero with cape and mask
A superhero at Cesar Chavez Elementary School in Fort Worth’s Diamond Hill neighborhood was hiding in plain sight this school year, until his peers watched him suit up in a red cape and matching mask on Friday.
Ramon Rodriguez Jr., a second-grader at Cesar Chavez Elementary, was honored by school staff, students and the American Heart Association as a “heart hero” who is bringing awareness to the importance of heart health, especially for children. Ramon, 8, was born with a heart that is upside down and functions at 50% on the right side, which has led to three open heart surgeries among other cardiac procedures.
During an assembly Friday afternoon, he received his superhero gear and flexed his arms for photos before being embraced by family members. His recognition was part of the school’s participation in the American Heart Association’s Kids Heart Challenge. It encourages frequent exercise, healthy eating, avoiding tobacco and other wellness guidelines.
“The doctors and the scientists and the researchers are able to go into his heart and put special medicine and give him special procedures so that his heart works just like ours. Is that pretty cool?” asked Brooke Sharples, youth market director for the association.
Ramon’s classmates replied in loud, cheerful agreement.
Although he was hesitant to talk about himself during the assembly, Ramon led his classmates in singing “Happy Birthday” to his sister, Brianna, and then gave her a hug. His mother, Nadia Rodriguez, said afterward that he surprised his sister with the gesture.
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Nadia Rodriguez was 14 weeks pregnant when she found out Ramon had a heart condition, she said. Ramon had his open heart surgeries at 4 days old, 6 months old and then 2 years old.
Congenital heart defects, which are present at birth, affect about 40,000 births — almost 1% — per year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“It was scary at first, but we’ve managed little by little to kind of understand more about his condition and I guess together as a family we just manage. It’s hard,” Nadia Rodriguez said. “We’re very proud of Ramon because despite everything that he’s been through, he manages to always stay positive and keep a smile.”
Principal Monica Ordaz noted that the school’s student population mostly consists of children who are of Black or Hispanic descent, and it’s important to introduce health initiatives to families that are more susceptible to heart conditions or obstacles with health care. According to the CDC, Hispanic women are more than twice as likely as white women to have diabetes, a risk factor for heart disease. Additionally, almost half of Black adults have been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease while 36% of white adults have received the same diagnosis.
“It’s important for me as a principal to bring that opportunity to the families, to just bring more awareness to what it is to contribute to the healthy lifestyle and to start the kids off early on that track,” Ordaz said.
