A New Heart for Abby
Donation protected
My niece, Abby Davies, is in critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit of Duke Hospital in North Carolina, and our family needs your help to provide her with the care that she needs.
Thirteen years ago this March she was given the gift of a new heart. Medicine that Abby had been prescribed as a child, caused a grave side-effect which damaged her heart causing a heart attack on the playground. One year later, she was the recipient of another child's heart and Abby's greatest passion has been taking care of this heart. Abby has endured constant testing and medications over the last thirteen years in order to keep her gift working properly. The heart began to break down last year as the average life expectancy of a transplanted heart is only 10 years. The heart became sick with coronary artery disease causing the heart to not be able to get proper blood flow to other vital organs. Abby went through a battery of tests and evaluations to get listed on the heart transplant list and was on her way to reaching this goal when she contracted pneumonia and was sent back to Duke Hospital to remove excess fluid. It was there that during a heart cath procedure on February 20th (something she has gone through 3 to 4 times a year for 13 years), upon awakening she arrested and was placed on ECMO (heart & lung machine). She remained on ECMO for two days prior to being successfully removed. She remains on an air vent to help her lungs and provide extra oxygen to her body while it continues to heal as we wait for a new heart.
Donations are needed to help with medical bills and to enable my sister Paula, Abby's mother, to be able remain with her at the Hospital. Duke Hospital is a 3.5 hours drive from their home. It is our family's greatest hope that Paula can stay by Abby's side at the hospital and not be forced to leave her to return to work. Many of you know my beloved sister, Paula Nichols Davies. She is the owner of Gorgeous from Head 2 Toe Salon in Swannanoa, North Carolina and her clients are extended members of our large family and we thank them for their continued love and support.
Abby is loved and cherished by all who know her. She is a role model and mentor to other children, who like her, were born with disabilities and who have had to work so hard for what most of us take for granted each day. She brings love and warmth to all those she meets and has literally never met a stranger. She is a Member of the Christian Creek Baptist Church and youth group and attends Mt. Moriah Wednesday night youth group with her mentor Arlene Stiles. Abby graduated from Owen High School in 2009, which was a major accomplishment for a child born with Mosaic Down Syndrome and a testiment to her determination. She is presently a student at Asheville-Buncombe Technical College where she is pursuing a certificate in Childcare. Abby worked for McDonalds at River Ridge from 2008-2012 and also conducted fundraisers for Ronald McDonald House and Special Olympics to help other children. She has endured years of medical treatments yet Abby still found time to give tirelessly as a community volunteer and has worked as a volunteer at the Asheville Humane Society since 2013 and was a Certified volunteer for the Brother Wolf Animal Shelter 2015-2016.
Abby loves animals and her goal is to get a service dog so that she can better help patients in the hospital undergoing difficult medical procedures & testing. She loves to spend time being an Auntie to her nieces and nephews. She loves to read, and to knit (scarves in particular), and enjoys watching her boyfriend, Justin, play basketball.
It is our goal as a family to get Abby back to the life she enjoys outside of the hospital, and to do that we need your help. It is our strongest wish for Abby's mother to be able to continue by Abby's side as she continues to heal and await a heart transplant. It is frightening for Abby to be connected to machines and tubes that don't allow her to speak with nurses and doctors performing treatments around the clock. Abby isn't able to take medicine for the intense pain because it could slow her heart from functioning. It is a great comfort for Abby to be able to hold her mother's hand and have her mother nearby to read to her, to help calm her fears, and ease her pain while in the Intensive Care Unit.
Please help us raise funds to help with medical expenses, lost income, and to allow her mother to be by her side during this difficult time. For the price of a greeting card, you can help bring great comfort to a mother fighting for her child's life. Thank you!
Thirteen years ago this March she was given the gift of a new heart. Medicine that Abby had been prescribed as a child, caused a grave side-effect which damaged her heart causing a heart attack on the playground. One year later, she was the recipient of another child's heart and Abby's greatest passion has been taking care of this heart. Abby has endured constant testing and medications over the last thirteen years in order to keep her gift working properly. The heart began to break down last year as the average life expectancy of a transplanted heart is only 10 years. The heart became sick with coronary artery disease causing the heart to not be able to get proper blood flow to other vital organs. Abby went through a battery of tests and evaluations to get listed on the heart transplant list and was on her way to reaching this goal when she contracted pneumonia and was sent back to Duke Hospital to remove excess fluid. It was there that during a heart cath procedure on February 20th (something she has gone through 3 to 4 times a year for 13 years), upon awakening she arrested and was placed on ECMO (heart & lung machine). She remained on ECMO for two days prior to being successfully removed. She remains on an air vent to help her lungs and provide extra oxygen to her body while it continues to heal as we wait for a new heart.
Donations are needed to help with medical bills and to enable my sister Paula, Abby's mother, to be able remain with her at the Hospital. Duke Hospital is a 3.5 hours drive from their home. It is our family's greatest hope that Paula can stay by Abby's side at the hospital and not be forced to leave her to return to work. Many of you know my beloved sister, Paula Nichols Davies. She is the owner of Gorgeous from Head 2 Toe Salon in Swannanoa, North Carolina and her clients are extended members of our large family and we thank them for their continued love and support.
Abby is loved and cherished by all who know her. She is a role model and mentor to other children, who like her, were born with disabilities and who have had to work so hard for what most of us take for granted each day. She brings love and warmth to all those she meets and has literally never met a stranger. She is a Member of the Christian Creek Baptist Church and youth group and attends Mt. Moriah Wednesday night youth group with her mentor Arlene Stiles. Abby graduated from Owen High School in 2009, which was a major accomplishment for a child born with Mosaic Down Syndrome and a testiment to her determination. She is presently a student at Asheville-Buncombe Technical College where she is pursuing a certificate in Childcare. Abby worked for McDonalds at River Ridge from 2008-2012 and also conducted fundraisers for Ronald McDonald House and Special Olympics to help other children. She has endured years of medical treatments yet Abby still found time to give tirelessly as a community volunteer and has worked as a volunteer at the Asheville Humane Society since 2013 and was a Certified volunteer for the Brother Wolf Animal Shelter 2015-2016.
Abby loves animals and her goal is to get a service dog so that she can better help patients in the hospital undergoing difficult medical procedures & testing. She loves to spend time being an Auntie to her nieces and nephews. She loves to read, and to knit (scarves in particular), and enjoys watching her boyfriend, Justin, play basketball.
It is our goal as a family to get Abby back to the life she enjoys outside of the hospital, and to do that we need your help. It is our strongest wish for Abby's mother to be able to continue by Abby's side as she continues to heal and await a heart transplant. It is frightening for Abby to be connected to machines and tubes that don't allow her to speak with nurses and doctors performing treatments around the clock. Abby isn't able to take medicine for the intense pain because it could slow her heart from functioning. It is a great comfort for Abby to be able to hold her mother's hand and have her mother nearby to read to her, to help calm her fears, and ease her pain while in the Intensive Care Unit.
Please help us raise funds to help with medical expenses, lost income, and to allow her mother to be by her side during this difficult time. For the price of a greeting card, you can help bring great comfort to a mother fighting for her child's life. Thank you!
Organizer and beneficiary
Melanie Nichols
Organizer
Pensacola, FL
Paula Davies
Beneficiary
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