Thank you to everyone who has prayed, shared, given, fasted, and grieved with the Garduno family during Damian's courageous fight. Damian has changed more lives in his two short months of life than most of us do who live many years. And the witness of Jenny and Ruben has been nothing short of heroic and awe-inspiring. My heart strives to celebrate Damian being welcomed into Heaven and being in perfect unity with our Lord, but in my humanity my heart is also heavy and I grieve the loss of his earthly life. These next few days, months, and years will be filled with many difficulties for Jenny and Ruben. Please keep them and their children and extended families in your prayers. The timing of his passing is not coincidental - three (the Trinity) minutes before what is typically the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a Feast that celebrates the perfect purity of Mary at her conception, in preparation to receive Jesus into herself. Perhaps each time you pray a Rosary, celebrate a Marian Feast, or think of the Mother of Jesus, you could offer a quick prayer up for two very holy and heartbroken parents. Damian, we love you dearly and are so humbled and honored to have been a part of your short but incredible life. Jenny and Ruben, we love you, grieve with you, and pray for you. Thank you for sharing your witness during the most difficult days of your life. You are an example for all of us. May the Lord bring you consolation.

From Ruben:

The Advent Miracle in the Life of Baby Damian Crux Garduno

From the beginning of time, God knew that Damian would come into the world at the right moment to do great things. God chose this Advent season to send little Damian on a journey that would touch thousands of souls across the globe.

Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of Christ. The Church gives us four weeks of Advent, each focused on a different theme: the 1st week is HOPE, the 2nd is PEACE, the 3rd is LOVE, and the 4th is JOY.

During the first week of Advent, Baby Damian came to teach us the true meaning of HOPE.

He underwent three open-heart surgeries during that week, with very few signs of progress. Despite receiving one piece of bad news after another, God made His presence known in magnificent ways every single day, filling the hearts of thousands of people with HOPE.

Today, we start the second week of Advent, which represents PEACE. Even on the first day, God has started to fill our hearts with PEACE by helping us accept the result of Damian's difficult journey.

Yesterday, Damian was visited by his loving godparents. They prayed over him, and their hearts were at PEACE, knowing that God is in control. This reassured Jenny and me that the PEACE we feel inside comes straight from God.

We are confident that the hearts of all those who have been praying for Damian will also be filled with the PEACE that comes from the Creator. SHALOM—the Hebrew word for perfect PEACE.

As the day was ending last night, Father Jason Keas, our beloved pastor, was flying back to Denver after attending the funeral of another dear and close family member.

Fr. Jason stopped by the hospital to visit little Damian. He prayed over him, administered the Last Rites, gave us counsel that reaffirmed the PEACE in our hearts, and went on his way.

Shortly after, at 11:57 PM, little Baby Damian Crux Garduno was welcomed by Jesus into His Father’s house. We are certain that Jesus’ first words to Damian were, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Damian came into this world with a great purpose: to bring souls to Christ. In his short time in this world—only eight weeks—he accomplished the unthinkable. He united in prayer thousands of people all over the world, bringing them HOPE, PEACE, LOVE, and JOY in Christ Jesus, which is the true meaning of Advent.

As Damian's parents, with the authority God gave us over him, Jenny and I requested Damian to do this: to bring all the names of the people who prayed for him, along with their families, and place them at the feet of Jesus in heaven. We prayed that every single soul would receive the sanctifying grace needed to one day be with Damian in heaven.

Little Baby Damian, we are so proud of you. Thank you for shining the light of Christ in this world.

Damian Crux Garduno

Born on October 4, 2024, on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

Died in the arms of his mom on December 7, 2024, at 11:57 PM, what it normally would be the eve of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

SHALOM.

Damian Crux Francis Garduño went home to be with our Lord last night. I will post Ruben’s beautiful update later today. Please continue your prayers for Jenny, Ruben, and their family. We love you Damien. 

Ruben posted the information below to his Facebook account around midnight last night (Friday). I will repost it here for those who haven't seen it. Please continue to pray. Jesus, we trust in You. Please send rays of Mercy from Your heart to his and heal his body completely. You, Lord Jesus are the Divine Physician and can restore this precious child to full health. Please give strength to his body and to his parents as they suffer with him.

From Ruben:

"Another difficult day for baby Damian, but another day where God made Himself present.

The day began with the news that yesterday’s surgery was not as successful as the doctors had hoped, needing another surgery today. Damian was prepped and taken into the operating room at 3:00 PM—the Hour of Mercy.

Each time he undergoes surgery, he is connected to a bypass machine, which puts significant strain on his organs. Today was no exception. His kidneys suffered greatly and are currently not functioning at all. His entire body is swollen, and his lungs are filled with fluid. The doctors will work to address these issues overnight.

Watching our little child go through this has been the most painful experience Jenny and I have ever faced. Yet, amidst this pain, God has granted us moments filled with profound Grace.

Today, we were visited by Deacon Brian Kerby and his wife, the grandparents of little Florentina, whom I mentioned in my last update. Florentina, now three years old, experienced the miraculous healing of one of her organs and survived against all odds.

Her story filled us with renewed hope. The deacon and his wife prayed over baby Damian and us with some of the most powerful prayers we have ever encountered.

Deacon Brian then blessed Damian’s heart with a first-class relic of the True Cross and holy chrism oil from the body of St. Charbel. This was followed by a Eucharistic blessing directly on Damian’s open chest. As he held the Host over our son, the deacon looked at us and said:

"Behold the Lamb of God, your Divine Healer, who takes away the sin of the world."

He then administered Holy Communion to Jenny and me.

This became the most meaningful Holy Communion we have ever received. Consuming the Body of Christ after it had been placed over Damian’s heart was a deeply sacred moment.

At that instant, I saw a vision of baby Damian safe and sound, wrapped in his baby blanket as if he were already healed. At the same time the image of the Child Jesus holding His Most Sacred Heart came into Jenny's mind. It was as if the Child Jesus was saying, “I give Damian My Heart.”

We don’t fully understand what this means, but we do know that God is giving us the grace to walk this journey with baby Damian.

We feel deeply connected to every soul that has prayed and continues to pray for our little boy.

Jesus, Divine Healer, we trust in You."

Ruben posted the update below very late last night/early this morning. Please continue to pray.

"Today was a long day for Damian. His surgery lasted more than eight hours, and he is still fighting to live.

During this time of waiting, Jenny and I learned about a little girl who, in this very same hospital, received an extraordinary healing miracle. This little girl had total liver failure, was gravely ill, and required a transplant. Her parents, filled with faith and confident that God would heal her, prayed over her using the words of Jesus in the miracle of the little girl in Mark 5:41: “Talitha koum” (which means, “Little child, I say to you, get up!”). And she was healed.

That miracle happened two years ago, right here in this hospital.

By God’s providence, Jenny was able to speak on the phone with the girl’s grandfather today, and he shared the story with us.

In that moment, we received the Grace to believe that a miracle is coming for little Damian.

Finally, late at night, the surgeon came out to speak with us about the outcome of the long surgery.

He explained that, unfortunately, Damian is farther from being a candidate for a heart transplant. The injuries to his heart are too severe at this point, and it may not be able to sustain proper blood flow to his other organs, even with the new pump now connected to it.

Normally, hearing this news would be crushing for anyone. But God has given us the Grace to believe that a miracle for Damian is coming.

For now, I invite all who read this to unite with us in prayer:

In the name of Jesus, “TALITHA KOUM!”

Rise up little Damian."

Please pray, pray, pray today. At noon mountain time, little Damian is undergoing a very risky but necessary procedure. It is his last option. But this is not when people of faith give up, it is when we pray harder. Jenny and Ruben are living through one of the biggest fears of parents. In this time, they would gladly trade places with Damian, but that is not an option. So instead, they sit with him, suffer with him, grieve for him, pray over him, and give him all they are and every ounce of love they have. God our Father sits with them and watches over them and Damian as a good father does because He is THE Good Father. As far as an update goes, I will include Ruben's Facebook post from very early this morning because it was written with the love and faith of a father and my summary would not do it justice. If you are able, please pray Stations of the Cross or a Divine Mercy Chaplet today at 12:00 PM mountain time (Denver time). I will include links to those prayers at the bottom of this post. 

From Ruben:

Today was the most intense roller coaster ride of our lives. We’re going to break it down into two parts: the highs and the lows.

TODAY we witnessed 3 miracles.

The first miracle, which I wrote in my previous post, involved the San Damiano Cross.

The second miracle was witnessing the LOVE OF GOD in action through the Body of Christ. Thousands of prayers have been said for Damian—from family, friends, entire religious communities in various countries, listeners of Relevant Radio (heard by millions), aswell as a popular Catholic podcast with a large following. People from Italy, Spain, Ireland, Ecuador, Mexico, Canada, and here at home have assured us of their prayers. Also numerous Masses have been said for him.

Seeing how much baby Damian is loved is a profound and true miracle.

The third miracle is just as remarkable as the first two. Being away from home and with the crazy hospital schedule, Jenny and I have struggled to access the sacraments as often as we would like. When we reached out to the hospital's spiritual care line to ask if a Catholic chaplain could bring us Holy Communion, the response was a firm NO. Not wanting to go another day without Jesus, we decided to take some time in the afternoon to attend Adoration at a nearby Catholic church that offers Holy Hour on Wednesday nights.

As we are ready to leave the hospital to go to the church, waiting for the elevator, its doors opened—and out stepped a Catholic priest. We immediately approached him and shared our situation. In a moment of divine providence, he walked with us to visit Damian, administered the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick to him, heard my confession, and gave us Holy Communion.

The miracle here is clear: we sought to go to Jesus, but it was Him who chose to come to us.

This incredible moment of GRACE was God’s way of strengthening us for what was about to happen.

As the priest left the room, a doctor was standing at the door, waiting to speak with us.

“May I speak with you?” she said.

The conversation that followed felt like an eternity and took us to a place of unimaginable darkness.

She explained that Damian’s heart is severely damaged, with the right side half-filled with clotted blood. These clots are on the verge of moving to other organs. Additionally, his kidneys are showing signs of failure. The doctor told us if we choose to let Damian go now - it would be ok.

Our hearts sank as we heard her words.

Then, she offered one final but slim possibility of life for Damian: a heart transplant.

For this to even be an option, Damian must recover from his kidney injuries. But for his kidneys to recover, his heart needs to pump effectively. This could potentially be achieved through the use of a heart pump, along with several other urgent and high-risk procedures scheduled for tomorrow around noon.

Though the road ahead is unimaginably hard and dangerous, we have unwavering confidence that God will answer the prayers of His people.

JESUS CAME TO US TODAY AND ASSURED US IN OUR HEARTS THAT HE IS WITH US.

We ask for your prayers now more than ever as the next 24 hours will be critical for his survival.

#PrayForDamian

Chaplet:   https://youtu.be/s-410S9wP0s?si=tKzhBWsezyj2_n3i

Stations:   https://youtu.be/g9nu9x5ND2Y?si=iIx7aEb7fBIaNinh

Good Evening Friends,

First, thank you so much for the incredible outpouring of prayers and support! Jenny and Ruben are so uplifted by all the love and care shown to them. And the prayers are giving Damian strength as well, which he greatly needs right now. 

Today Jenny and Ruben were given the difficult news that one part of Damian's heart is filled with clots, making his heart medically beyond repair. He needs a heart transplant... or a miracle. Let's continue to storm heaven for a miracle! In order to be a candidate for a transplant, he needs to be healthy and have the other parts of his body functioning properly. Currently he has kidney damage that needs to heal, and his liver is also struggling a bit. There is a waiting list for donor hearts, and for someone Damian's size it could be several months - all of which would need to be spent in the hospital. He would then need a second heart transplant as an adult.

Going forward for the short term a few things will happen. Damian is schedule for surgery at noon (MST) Thursday to take out the valve that was originally inserted because the replacement was not successful. He will also be taken off life support and put on a new machine that is similar but just for the heart rather than the heart and lungs. This machine is better suited for long term use. 

Please continue to pray for this precious little one. I would also invite to fast, whether it be from a meal, a specific food, coffee, TV, etc. It seems any time in scripture there was a serious need, fasting accompanied the prayer. Thank you again for your continued support!

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Jenny and Ruben have gotten to spend some time with Damian today. As soon as Damian heard Jenny's voice this morning, he opened his eyes. He knew Ruben and Jenny were there with him. They sang him all his favorite songs, and as Jenny said "he was squeezing my finger pretty good. He gave us some hope."

There seems to be something going on with his kidneys, but they will have more information on that at a later time. Ruben sent me an update around noon today, which I will post below verbatim.

"Damian is stable this morning, and all his organs are safe. While he is still considered high-risk, there hasn't been any worsening of his condition. It seems the plan is for him to undergo another surgery because the artificial valve they placed has failed due to blood clots. They will need to replace it with a new one. For now, they are allowing his heart some time to rest before proceeding with the next steps. The only thing we can do now is continue to pray and wait for his heart to gain strength."

And pray we will. Please continue to storm heaven for this precious little one! Sister Clare Crockett, please intercede for Damian and show the world the might of God through a miraculous healing. 

Our hope is in the Lord, who made heaven and earth. We love you, sweet Damian!

Good Evening Friends,

Damian has had a big few days. Yesterday (Sunday) he was surrounded by lots of family and so much love. His uncle (Jenny's brother), Father Jason, even confirmed him! The name Francis was chosen as his Confirmation name - so fitting with the numerous connections to Saint Francis. All of Jenny and Ruben's children visited, along with Jenny's parents, sister, and nieces and nephew. 

This morning started out early. Damian had to be finished feeding by 3 am and the nurses warned he would likely be very upset. After getting scrubbed with a special soap for five minutes to prevent infection, Damian was the most calm Jenny and Ruben have ever seen him. They felt it was Damian's way of letting them know he was going to be ok. On the way into surgery Jenny asked them to place his Crucifix at his head and they agreed - a beautiful reminder that Jesus was with Damian and his family every moment. After sedation, Damian was intubated, and lines were placed both in his neck and in his ribs before opening his chest for surgery. He was also placed on a heart and lung machine. Surgeons attempted to do a repair of the valve rather than a replacement, but it didn't work so they proceeded with the replacement.

After the replacement, Damian's heart didn't fully respond to the surgery as needed, so he remains on life support with the heart and lung machine until the doctors can gradually restore his heart's function. His chest remains open for a day or two in case further interventions are needed. The doctors said today has been a tough day and things haven't gone as hoped. They want his heart to rest from the trauma for a couple days and give it a chance to come back on its own. Please continue to pray for this beloved little guy and for his parents and family. God's ways are not our ways, but we strive to trust in His plan as we lift up Damian, Jenny, and Ruben with many prayers. "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" -Jeremiah 29:11  God must have quite an incredible plan for this precious, brave little boy. It is only those closest to Him, to whom He entrusts great suffering. Thank you for your prayers! May God bless each of you.

Please remember sweet little Damian tomorrow (Monday) morning. His surgery is scheduled for 7am MST. Please also remember Jenny and Ruben in your prayers. There is nothing more difficult than seeing your child suffer. Thank you so much! Including a photo from today of Jenny and Damian enjoying some snuggles together. 

We have now been at Denver Children's Hospital for six days. Damian has been diagnosed with congenital heart disease and is scheduled for surgery Monday morning to repair or possibly replace his mitral valve. Ruben and the children are staying at the Ronald McDonald House this weekend about 20 minutes away. We got to reunite as a family and it was such a precious time. The children came to the hospital and even got to see their baby brother from the door (we are trying to keep away any potential germs before his surgery). Damian smiled as soon as he heard their voices. We all sang him songs together, which he really seemed to enjoy. Ruben and I will be getting a tour of the ICU today and we will meet our surgeon again soon to go over things in more detail and to sign consent. We are so grateful he is at a great hospital with highly trained nurses and doctors. I have been cherishing every moment with him - it’s hard to believe how much he has grown in just a week! He loves being held, nursing, and intentional time together… he smiles and coos when I talk to him. Thank you for your prayers and support for us.

God bless,

The Garduno Family

Jenny & Ruben; Sofia, Josephine, Max, Adelaide, Carlo, Anne and Damian

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path." Proverbs 3:5-6