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Danielle's
Story July, 2000
Danielle
Pettit is a beautiful, loving 3 year old
girl. At such a young age,
Danielle has endured many obstacles in her life. She was born with a heart defect called hypoplastic left
heart syndrome. This is a
congenital malformation of the heart in which the left side is underdeveloped,
resulting in insufficient blood flow. She
also has a coarctation of the aorta. This
is a narrowing of the aorta, which carries blood from the heart to be
distributed throughout the body. Danielle
is also hypoglycemic, which is a decrease in the level of sugar in the blood.
As if this weren't enough, Danielle also has a fatty build-up around
her heart and spinal sac. At 8 months of age, Danielle had a stroke which left her
unable to walk and talk. Danielle's
conditions require many trips to Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio for
treatment. These trips are quite
a distance from her home. When
"Help From The Heart" heard about Danielle, we called to see how we
could help. After speaking with
her parents we learned Danielle's father was ill also.
Danielle's father is a young man who has multiple sclerosis.
This is a disease marked by patches of hardened tissue in the brain or
spinal cord., with partial or complete paralysis and jerking muscle tremors. After
speaking to her parents, it is obvious where Danielle gets her inner strength
and beauty. Her parents were
extremely grateful to "Help From The Heart" for reaching out to
their daughter in a time of need. One
of the things Danielle loves to do is watch "Blues Clues".
It helps to calm and comfort her and always makes her smile.
Therefore, the organization bought Danielle a television/vcr
combination that her parents can put in their car for the long trips to
Children's Hospital. One of our
executive committee members delivered the gift.
When Danielle saw it, her beautiful smile lit up the room.
No
one knows what the future holds for Danielle, but it is certain that she will
have to face many more obstacles in life.
This sweet little girl and her struggles should remind all of us as to
how precious life is. Small things can make a huge difference in anyone's
life, especially the life of a child. Let
us love one another and join together to continue to make a difference
"one heart at a time". Sincerely, Pam
July, 2000
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Help From The Heart You can make a donation here:
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is a registered Non-Profit Organization