KYLE, Texas — There's a special celebration planned in Kyle on Monday afternoon all in honor of a local boy who has a lot of heart, even though he was born with only half of his.
Lisa Crane shared that when she was 20 weeks pregnant with her son, Ash Crane, was when she learned that he had a heart condition, known as hypo-plastic left heart syndrome, meaning he was born with half a heart.
As a result, Ash has had more than 20 heart surgeries. Despite this, nothing has ever been able to take away his love of playing hockey, something his community took notice of.
That's why Kyle city leaders and the Make-A-Wish foundation teamed up to build a roller hockey rink pavilion at Gregg-Clarke Park in Kyle in honor of Ash.
In the summer, the city of Kyle, Make-A-Wish and Ash's family hosted the "Ash Bash" Concert Benefit to help raise money to fund the pavilion.
On Monday, January 21, also Ash's birthday, the community will come together at Gregg-Clarke Park for the groundbreaking of the future home of Ash Pavilion, which will hold a new roller hockey rink and host other sporting events.
Once funding for the pavilion is complete, that phase of development will go before Kyle City Council for approval, which could come as early as spring of 2019, with a potential Grand Opening of Ash Pavilion in the summer.
The Crane family, Kyle city leaders, Make-a-Wish and representatives from several professional sports teams are expected to be at the groundbreaking on Monday, along with a DJ and some birthday cake for Ash's birthday.
The groundbreaking will begin at 1 p.m. at Gregg-Clarke Park in Kyle located at 1300 W. Center St.
According to the city of Kyle's website, there will be T-shirts available for purchase with proceeds serving as a donation for the pavilion.