- May 4, 2024
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Ohana means family, and that is exactly what Tristan Kaphan was to the Flagler Surf Club. As they paddled out into the ocean Friday, July 12, with flowers clenched between their teeth, the love of the boy who they adopted as one of their own was overwhelming.
Tristan was born June 14, 2012, to James Kaphan and Emily Piekarski, with a congenital heart defect, hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
The surf club held a benefit in honor of Tristan when the club first formed.
“After we did that, he just stuck with us,” said surf club founder and president Joe Eddy. “When he passed, I felt the need to do something for everyone — to kick him off in Flagler Beach, surfer style.”
A surf tradition done in memory of a fallen fellow, a paddle out involves a group paddling out past the break, forming a circle, splashing, throwing flowers and remembering.
“Since Tristan became such a big part of the surf club, we feel like he was a surfer with us, and this is a great way to honor him and his family,” Eddy said.
The simple explanation of Tristan’s condition is that he was born with half a heart. The left side of Tristan’s heart was underdeveloped to the extent that it would have never worked. The current prescribed treatment for this defect is a series of three open-heart surgeries to re-wire the heart to act as if it was a whole heart. He had his first surgery at 6 days old, and his condition was up and down from there.
At 3 months old, Tristan received a heart transplant, but shortly thereafter, he experienced antibody rejection. At around 11 months old, Tristan started to have cellular rejection as well.
On June 29, two weeks after his first birthday and 267 days after his heart transplant, Tristan’s heart failed for the final time.
“Our rock star put on his final show, and it was breathtaking,” his parents wrote on the Facebook page dedicated to updating friends and family on his condition. “Tristan may have only been with us for a short time, but in that time he taught us amazing lessons about strength, courage and the power of a simple smile. Tristan affected people around the world; and if you ask me, only a true rock star has the power to do that.”
