16 year old Blaze Blaze was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome HLHS.
Which is Congenital Heart Defects.

Blaze, was born with basically half of a heart. He underwent three open-heart surgeries before the age of 3 years old. Years ago, his diagnosis would have been a death sentence. But today, thanks to some amazing medical intervention and I believe a God who answers prayers, we have a thriving, healthy 8-year-old.

Blaze and his family flew in from Jefferson City, Missouri to Denver on November 8th......for his elk hunt!!!
Blaze hunted on 1000 acres of private land with no other hunters on the property!!!

Now the story of the our name (Brave Young Hearts)and how Blaze fits in. We had started our organization, but was going back and forth on a name.
Mama Bear said to the boys "Don't you both have Brave Young Hearts"!
The rest is history!
Now Blaze is 16 and ready for his Elk Hunt Adventure!!!


Blaze wrote:
Even though you think an adventure is done, it doesn't mean it actually is. This was best exampled when Mama and Papa Bear reached out to me and asked if I would like to have one more trip, and I took it. My name is Blaze Gilzow and this is my story.
I met Mama and Papa Bear 10 years ago at Give Kids the World. I didn't think that 10 years later, things would again pick up with them in their own organization named after me and my friend called "Brave Young Hearts." When we were invited to make another trip to anywhere outdoors, I knew I wanted to hunt. After a little bit of research, I decided to hunt Elk in Colarado. We were able to fly out to Colorado and have our own lodge to live in for the week. On the first day, I met my guides, Eli and Corbin, super cool guys, who made an amazing time out hunting. Through the week, we sat out and watched Elk come close to the line but could never shoot it. I learned a lot from the trip, like how Elk are way too smart to hunt. I just don't get it. Anyways, the last day we switched up to Coyotes instead of Elk, this way, we could drive around, hop out the truck and shoot. We saw one. I got out, lifted the gun, and pulled the trigger. Sadly, it kept moving and didn't make a sound, meaning I had missed. It was on me, I messed up, and I totally blame myself for not having Coyote hide. However, I did have a great time and this really has changed my life. Before this I was just kinda like "well I'll try hunting, if I like it I'll maybe go once or twice more at something else." However, afterwards, my thoughts have changed. I want to go out now as much as I can and hunt. This trip also provided me with new sights of beautiful mountains, early mornings with the sun coming over the hills, and everything in between. The experience of going out every day into Colorado, the cold air, and low oxygen, really helped with stamina and overall appreciating the beautiful sights of the world. I thank God, my family, and everyone I have met along the way who has helped me.

Blaze’s Mom wrote:
We had an extraordinary opportunity gifted to our family. Blaze got to choose an Outdoor Adventure from Brave Young Hearts.
We had an incredible week in the Rocky Mountains, a couple of miles above sea level, staying at a cabin outside of Fairplay, Colorado. Blaze chose to do elk hunting. While they saw hundreds of elk (literally) none came onto the property where he was licensed to hunt. Even though we didn't get to bring home an elk, we had some extraordinary experiences. I'll share pics and stories in chunks, since we took so many photos! We are so grateful to have had this experience. I want to thank not only Brave Young Hearts, Mama and Papa Bear, but also our amazing guides and their families, but also Tim, Blaze’s Dad. He got up faithfully every morning and went out with Blaze. It wasn't easy on him at such a high elevation, plus the weather elements. He overcame his fear of flying.

An immense, match grade thanks to Doug Alley and Ammo Alley in Hartsburg, MO, for working with Blaze on his shooting lessons!

A brobdingnagian, bunyanesque, thanks to our landowner, Pettee Ranch, LLC - Yak Ranch Danielle Garner y’all are an incredible, sublime BLESSING!!

A prodigious thanks to Sam Brunner for coming through with the private land elk tag, his Guides Eli and Corbin for working so hard with Blaze, and Infinite Outdoors

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