After being born with a condition called Tetralogy of Fallot, a rare quadruple heart defect, Damian overcame three open-heart surgeries with the help of pediatric specialists who provided life-saving care and support to him and his family at UC Davis Children's Hospital. This ensured that he would be healthy enough to one day follow his own dream of helping others – as a Sacramento weatherman.
Learn more about Damian and how the region’s only nationally ranked, comprehensive children’s hospital gave him a brighter future at https://health.ucdavis.edu/discovering-healthy/patient-stories/damian.html
when I grow up I want to be a wedding man because I want to help people. When I was pregnant with Damien I had no idea that he was sick. I didn't know what was coming. It was actually till the day after he was born that they started noticing things. They ran some tests and that's kind of where our journey started ended up being the head tetralogy of fellow and he wasn't eating because he was tired he was too weak to be able to suck properly. And then they transferred him to UC Davis. So his first heart surgery he was three months old six months later. Um He had the full repair the last open heart surgery that he's had. We weren't expecting that one. They ran the test and it came back that one side of his heart was too large and that felt like a blow because I was not expecting that he was 2.5 in every surgery. Um The nurses at UC Davis the doctors everyone they've taken such great care of him of me, of everyone. They U. C. Davis doctors and nurses. It seems like they're there because they want to help On this. He's very strong for his age for any age. I mean he's gone through things that no some people never go through and hit their whole lives most 12 years later and here he is still fighting. He's a fighter. He loves to read he loves learning about whether he wants to be a meteorologist. They like give the morning so I like head up where the people can evacuate so then you'll be less death less injury more people that are safer. We heard Damien story and that he wanted to be a meteorologist was a no brainer to have him here at Fox 40 and give him a shot to stand on the green screen and talk about the weather. So you look at the camera for 123 you look to the side 123. It's kind of weird to get the hang of first because you feel like you want to touch it right and you can see it's gonna be 8 to 7 mile per hour. Damien did great. He got onto the green screen and he was using his hands to gesture to everything. He was having fun. He was in his element so I could see him being on tv in a few years from now. U. C. Davis helped me live and now thanks to them I can go pursue my dream
