Ashley McNeur's Heart & Art

Ashley is undergoing treatment for cardiomyopathy in attempts to delay the need for a heart transplant while also struggling to meet the costs of attending The School of Visual Arts. Ashley was born with a congenital heart defect. She went through three open heart surgeries before the age of 6. At the age of 2 she had an atrial septal defect repair. At the age of 4 she underwent a mitral valve repair which was not successful and then at the age of 6 she received an artificial mitral valve and a pacemaker. Now, at the age of 18, her cardiologist has diagnosed her with advancing cardiomyopathy, enlarged and weakened heart muscle walls, and the chance of requiring a heart transplant in the future is very high. Ashley is currently visiting Columbia University Hospital regularly as her cardiologists formulate a treatment plan. Through these very emotionally difficult health situations Ashley has risen as a very talented artist and has been accepted to The School of Visual Arts in Manhattan starting the fall of 2017.  Her father, Luke, is a disabled veteran of Desert Storm/Shield who has suffered a severe spine injury in 2015 and has since been in physical rehabilitation at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center of Northport New York.  Due to this debilitating incident financial assistance is needed to help Ashley to follow her talents as an artist at SVA.  Please help Ashley in any way possible. In addition to the SVA tuition and housing fees, she needs assistance for food, laptop, books and art supplies.   So far Medicaid has been covering the initial medical expenses but the larger procedures are still looming on the horizon.  Thank you for your consideration and please spread the word to friends and family.