Posts by Nicole Stenzel

Gerald David Stenzel, or “Jerry,” as he was better known, was born October 14, 1966, in Wells, Minnesota to Dominic and Evangeline Stenzel—who had a small farming operation and raised their 11 (yes, 11) children on the farm outside that same small town in Minnesota. Jerry had what he always described as a “normal” childhood—at least, as normal as it can be with 10 siblings—when, in fact, Jerry and his childhood were anything but normal.

Shortly after he was born, it was discovered that Jerry had a congenital heart defect. His tricuspid valve had not fully developed: diagnosis tricuspid atresia. Jerry was whisked away a few hours down the highway to Mayo Clinic, where surgeons performed a shunt operation to save his life.

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