SAN ANTONIO — Behold the Dairy Queen Blizzard: a southern fast-food staple and the sweetest way to give children like 9-year-old Drew Perez at Christus Children’s, new hope.
For athletes like Drew, challenges come and go. But he recalls one challenge in particular being his toughest one yet.
“My earliest memory is being on the ventilator,” he said.
When Drew was two-years-old, he was severely ill, spending six weeks in the hospital.
“I had pneumonia and empyema," Perez said. “It’s a sickness you get on your lung.”
This competitive 9-year-old reflects on things we shouldn’t take for granted.
“I couldn’t walk that good," he said. "I had to go on a little wagon, to get around. Because I had gotten off the ventilator so I had to relearn how to walk.”
Several surgeries and years later, Drew enjoys just being a kid.
Geno Briseno is a general manager at Dairy Queen on Fredericksburg Road. He says there are 18 locations across the city contributing to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.
“It makes people, us feel, employees feel pretty good,” Briseno said. "We’re a part of it.”
One dollar or more from each blizzard sold will be donated to Christus Children’s through Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
“I think they should pick up a sweet treat from DQ because it tastes good," Perez said. "And they should donate because it helps save children’s lives.”
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