Help Alara Get to Her Next Heart Surgery Appointment

We truly hate asking for help.

Our community has already carried us through so much, supporting us when Alara was first born, and again when her dad was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer shortly after. We will never forget the kindness and generosity shown to our family.

Over the past five years, we’ve made many trips back and forth to BC Children’s Hospital. Alara has undergone multiple surgeries and procedures, and through every hurdle she has handled it with more strength and grace than most of us adults ever could.

Lately, though, our sweet girl has been struggling. So, on Monday February 24th, we’re heading back to BC Children’s Hospital for testing including an ekg, echocardiogram, and a full assessment with her cardiologist and heart team. We will hopefully find out whether we’ve reached the point where she now needs her next open-heart surgery.

As Alara has grown, the cadaver grafts and tissue used to repair her heart need to be replaced (essentially “upgrading to bigger parts”) so that her heart can pump enough blood and oxygen through her growing body. It’s something we always knew would come eventually, but that doesn’t make it any less scary, of course.

If you know Alara, you know she is just the sweetest little girl. She’s obsessed with DJ Catnip from Gabby’s Dollhouse, and adores real cats too (even conning mom and dad into keeping one of our bottle-baby foster kittens that we cared for last year, whom she named Orin!), loves baking with Mom or cooking with Dad, drawing/coloring and doing all sorts of crafts, swimming, riding her little electric Jeep, and playing with her friends and schoolmates. Her favorite color is blue. And oddly enough, her favorite food is broccoli.

We have taken advantage of every support available to us and are incredibly grateful that Hope Air is covering our flights and that the BC Family Residence Program has covered our hotel.

What we need help with are:

•Transportation (taxis/Ubers to and from the hospital, hotel, airport, etc.)

•Meals while we’re there

Unfortunately, Hope Air no longer covers transportation or meals for non-cancer patients, and this trip came on short notice, leaving us without time to save ahead.

We know it’s a hard time of year financially for many families. Please know that any amount, big or small, makes a difference and is so incredibly appreciated. If you’re unable to donate, sharing this page or keeping Alara in your thoughts and prayers means just as much to us.

Every dollar raised will go directly toward this medical trip. Any funds beyond what is needed for this trip will be set aside for future hospital visits, which we know are inevitable in Alara’s journey.

From the bottom of our hearts, Mike, Alara and I thank you for continuing to support, love, and pray for our family over these past five years. We are endlessly grateful for this community.

With love,

Lesley, Mike & Alara Melville

EMT also accepted: bey_kasha [AT] hotmail dot com