Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Harvest Ball 09'

Every fall here in the Tri-cities, the local guild for Children's Hospital holds their annual fundraiser called the Harvest Ball. This year the committee asked if they could feature Teagan's story in their brochure and I was so excited! The Ball isn't until October but the brochures were mailed out to local businesses and healthcare centers last week. We all get to attend the fundraiser in October and I'm supposed to get up and say a few words. (nervous already!) Here's a look at what they included: Teagan Maxwell was born with a unique heart defect that left the left side of her heart severely underdeveloped and nonfunctional. On the seventh day of Teagan's life she received life-saving, open-heart surgery at Seattle Children's Hospital. It wasn't until 35 days later that she was able to come home.

Thankfully, the same week that Teagan returned home the Children's Tri-Cities clinic opened its doors. With Seattle Children's hours away, the new local clinic was a blessing to the Maxwells, saving them from driving to Seattle for weekly visits. And, the family had great peace of mind with the expert pediatric cardiologists available in the Tri-Cities.

At 6 months of age Teagan received her second open-heart surgery. This time her recovery was much smoother; she was home in 14 days and no longer required a feeding tube. Between her second and fourth birthday, Teagan will need to undergo a third open-heart surgery so her heart will function as a single-ventricle or "half-heart" for the rest of her life.

In her short lifetime, Teagan has shown tremendous strength and courage that brings hope for other miracles. Your gift to Seattle Children's hospital means all children like her can receive expert medical care when they need it the most.

I don't have the information yet on how to purchase tickets to attend the dinner, but I will post as soon as I do!

2 comments:

Kathryn @ Expectant Hearts said...

Susie, we emailed back & forth a bit, geez, it could have been a year ago now. I haven't followed your blog lately but wanted to stop by and say how neat I think Teagan's being recognized for the Harvest Ball is and I'm glad she's doing so well!

Unknown said...

This is so crazy!
I found a pic of teagan on pinterest read the caption, which lead me to your blog. Reading through those I saw she also had the same surgon at SCH! Then I read we live in the same town! Soooo crazy!
My daughter is 4 weeks post fontan & we have so much in common! This is sounding creepy but thanks for sharing your family story! We have a lot of friends/ family support but they cant fully relate.