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PHOENIX - A Phoenix area teenager is defying the odds.
Born with a rare syndrome, many doctors said Mason Duchesne wouldn't survive. Despite multiple open-heart surgeries, he is thriving these days, and leaving many behind.
Mason Duchesne is always on the go.
"When you’re racing, all of your thoughts are gone, you can’t really think about anything else, but what you’re doing," Mason said.
The daredevil got hooked on the sport when he watched Formula One. The family also loves NASCAR.
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AZ teen defies odds to live his dream
Mom Adreana Duchesne says, "he fell in love with racing. We let him hop in a go-kart when he was eight, and it’s become a huge passion of his."
Seeing the 13-year-old zip around the track, you would never know that underneath his suit, Mason has several scars.
"At the time when he was born in 2010, they said it was the most complex case of heart disease that they had ever attempted to repair and we were told he had about a 1% chance of living through the surgery," Adreana said.
Born with a rare syndrome, Mason has had three open-heart surgeries and five cardiac cath procedures.
"We tried a lot of sports, and I just couldn’t really do them," Mason said. "I’ve always loved cars and it was just that one thing that was very fun."
Mason Duchesne
Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Mason and his family had a V-I-P experience at the Miami Grand Prix in 2023. Mason got to meet his favorite F1 driver, Max Verstappen, and the entire Red Bull team.
"Best experience I’ve probably ever had," Mason said.
From the track in Miami to the one in Glendale, Mason is more determined than ever to make his passion his career.
"We joke that when he was a baby, I had said to the doctor we're going to spend all this time trying to keep him alive and watch, he'll become like a stuntman or race car driver, and here is," Adreana said. "He wants to be a race car driver when he grows up."
"I just feel like you gotta work hard and never give up," Mason said. "It’s going to be very hard, but I feel like it’s possible."
February is American Heart Month, and the Duchesne family recently started a foundation to help other families get involved in racing.
Galo Racing
https://www.instagram.com/galoracingteam/