I want to express my heartfelt thanks for taking a moment to visit Chloe's Army's fundraising page.
Our sweet Chloe and her miraculous medical journey has led us to participate in the Congenital Heart Walk event. It's not just a walk; it's a stride toward changing lives. This endeavor is all about supporting The Children's Heart Foundation and their crucial mission - advancing the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of congenital heart defects through groundbreaking research.
In July of 2023, at the age of 9, Chloe was diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy. Her medical journey started at Wolfson's Children's Hospital in Jacksonville, but upon finding out she would need a heart transplant, she was quickly transferred to UF Shands Children's Hospital in Gainesville. On August 5th, two weeks after arriving at Shands, Chloe suffered a heart attack. She was ultimately without a pulse for over an hour as doctors worked to place her on ECMO, a VAD that would help pump her heart for her. Miraculously, no permanent damage was done to any other organ in her body during her arrest. She did, however, get diagnosed with compartment syndrome in her right leg due to restricted blood flow and ultimately lost the entire front muscle and a portion of the upper back muscle of that leg. Ten days later, on August 15, she had her first open heart surgery to come off ECMO and receive a Berlin Heart VAD. Chloe was able to regain some strength on the Berlin for three weeks before getting the phone call that a donor heart match had been made for her. On September 7 Chloe had her second open heart surgery to receive her new heart.
Today, Chloe is one year post transplant and living with 0 rejection! She is in 5th grade and loves history. She is constantly creating and enjoys singing as well as her new found hobby with her brother, karate.
I warmly invite you to become a part of this significant journey by supporting our fundraising efforts or joining our team to come walk at the event! Together, we can raise the funds essential to drive forward life-saving research. Your contribution means so much and your consideration to join our team to come walk with us means the world!