Help Skylar Get Life Saving Heart Surgery

Hi, my name is Dana Cogar and I'm fundraising for Angela Johnson, a single mom, and her 9 year old daughter Skylar. Angela works with me and she is an incredible mother, employee, and friend and she's navigating some scary, complex, costly medical problems with which Skylar was recently diagnosed.

Over the past year Skylar has had episodes of fainting and becoming really sick out of nowhere. After many, many doctor visits and no answers (and some wrong answers), Angela took Skylar to a cardiologist in July who found a ½ cm hole between the upper left and right quadrants of her heart, Atrial Septal Defect.

Over time, Atrial Septal Defect taxes the right side of the heart causing chest pain and breathing problems because it puts extra pressure on the lungs due to the overflow of blood from the left and right quadrants of the heart. It also increases the risk of stroke and if left untreated could cause severe complications later in life.

Skylar will have surgery in September to fix her heart defect and help her get back to the business of being a precocious, active, little girl.

Angela is a single mom and sole breadwinner and this surgery can be extremely costly. Even with good insurance, out-of-pocket expenses related to surgery and hospital stays can bankrupt someone, especially a single mom. The costs we researched fluctuated wildly, dependent on complexity, but the surgery alone can cost up to $165,000.00.

We're hoping you can help Angela cover the costs that insurance doesn't. If we raise more money than Angela needs for Skylar's medical bills, that money will be donated to St. Jude's Children's Hospital to help another sick child.

Thank you so much for helping Skylar and Angela!