Christmas won’t be very merry for a Canyon Lake family who lost their 5 ½-month-old daughter to a congenital heart defect in June.
Luna Rose Bohne was born on Dec. 28, 2021, but she only left Austin’s Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin briefly on Valentine’s Day, and for a week in April before serious complications forced her return.
Parents Dallas Schryver and Troy Bohne almost never left her side but despite a desperate fight, Luna died from complications of pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum as doctors prepped her for a second heart surgery.
To honor her life, they hope to spread Christmas cheer to other parents with critically ill children by hosting a 2nd Annual Winter Wonderland Benefit from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Las Barcas Tex-Mex Grill, 10103 FM2673, Canyon Lake.
Schryver said she will sell raffle tickets for Christmas baskets and bake sale items. Children can participate in games.
Tickets for Grinch pancakes will be sold in the parking lot and can be redeemed inside Las Barcas, where pancakes are somewhat of a specialty.
Proceeds will be split evenly between Ronald McDonald House Charities, which provides a place for parents to stay when a child is hospitalized, and Josh Tree New Braunfels, which also supports parents of children with life-threatening illnesses.
“We want to give back what they gave to us,” Schryver said of her time at Ronald McDonald House.
Josh Tree provides hospital bags for children and supplies designed to make caregivers’ hospital stays a bit easier.
Schryver said last year’s benefit raised funds for Luna’s hospital bills.
“The first one was raising money for her surgery,” she said. “After she passed we decided we wanted to continue her memory on through this event because so many learned about it and followed her.”
Heart defects in infants are much more common than people think, Schryver said.
But Luna will be remembered most for her smile, “which lit up the room and touched so many people.
“Many Canyon Lakers remember her and message me about how much of a light she was,” she said.
Luna died six hours after this photo (above) was taken with father Troy Bohne.
