The 13th annual Bentley’s Battle Benefit Ride will take place Saturday, Aug. 9, with a rain date Sunday, Aug. 10.

This benefit ride honors and raises money for Bentley Fulkroad.

Bentley Fulkroad, 14, of Mifflintown, was born at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) with a severe and rare condition known as tricuspid valve dysplasia. Bentley was one of 12 children in the world with this condition at the time of his birth.

The positive outcomes of this condition were very low, but Bentley is a fighter.

Bentley had his first open-heart surgery at just one week old and went into cardiac arrest following the surgery. He was then put on life support for four days, but pulled through.

Following his first surgery, Bentley faced three more open-heart surgeries, the most recent in May of 2022, when he received a life-changing heart transplant.

Leading up to the heart transplant, Bentley was diagnosed with PLE, or protein-losing enteropathy, a fatal condition, which placed him on the transplant list.

Bentley was on the transplant list for 530 days before receiving his new heart.

After his transplant, Bentley had to face a lot of ups and downs. He faced rejection multiple times, had to receive a port, along with lung issues. The Fulkroad family was making trips to CHOP, sometimes twice weekly.

Bentley held strong and pushed through, with much better circumstances in the last year. He has not been placed on oxygen and has been able to participate in the junior high basketball and baseball teams.

Although Bentley is doing much better now, he is still facing issues with his lungs.

The Fulkroad family has plans to travel to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville in October to get a second opinion on his lungs. If all goes well in Nashville, the family will travel to Philadelphia for cardiac-related issues and will continue to travel to Nashville for his pulmonology-related issues.

Bentley’s Battle Benefit Ride is not only a fundraiser to raise money for the family’s medical bills and travel expenses, but is also a way to celebrate and honor all that Bentley has overcome.

“It’s something that means a lot to Bentley and even to his younger brother Maverick,” mother, Erika Fulkroad expressed. “It brings some positivity to them and something special in the midst of all the hardship. They enjoy getting to see all the familiar faces and getting to meet new people too. We just really, as a family, appreciate the support. It’s mind-blowing the amount of support shown by the community and also by the entire nation.”

The ride will be held at the Port Royal Lions Club. Registration is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. and will run until 11:45 a.m. with a scheduled take-off time at noon.

The cost for a single rider is $20 and $25 for two riders. The hosts are not responsible for any accidents that may occur during the ride.

There will also be t-shirts for sale, costing $20 each; a limited supply of t-shirts will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

A meal and soda will be provided for riders immediately following the ride.

For information about the ride, find the event listed on Facebook under Bentley’s Battle Benefit Ride, or call (717) 363-1504 or (717) 348-1911 to get in contact with the event coordinators.