One special student may never live out his football dream because of a heart defect.

Ten year old Ryan Reggio loves to play football. He's a big football fan for the New Orleans Saints, but he'll never be able to share that love with teammates his age because of a heart defect.

Ryan was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. About two out of every 10,000 children are born with the defect. It's been a long journey for this fourth grader at Princeton Elementary.

He had three surgeries to correct the problem before he was two years old. When he was almost five the aortic valve leaked too much to supply oxygen to his body, so they implanted a mechanical aortic valve.

But, Ryan is growing and the valve doesn't grow with his body. He's going to a special hospital in Michigan next month to replace the valve. It's going to be the fifth open heart surgery he's gone through and it's not something he's looking forward to.

Despite the struggle the Reggio family remains strong, putting their faith in God and reminding themselves he put them in this position for some reason.

The first five years were like a roller coaster for them. They wanted to get off but couldn't. It's just something they had to go through. Ryan was also born with a back problem, which he's also had surgery on.

It's going to be an expensive road for the Reggio's. Family members are planning a big rummage sale next month to help defer the cost of the trip to the hospital.

If you would like the help the family, an account has been set up at Capital One banks in the family's name.