Fundraiser aids heart surgery trip

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This article was published 22/02/2021 (2074 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“Blown away” by an online fundraiser far exceeding its goal, Brandi Palmer said her family is incredibly thankful for those who supported them.

Brandi and husband Kyle’s five-year-old daughter, Aubrey, has an appointment to receive heart surgery in Edmonton next month.

Including two weeks of quarantine upon their return home to Manitoba, the trip will put Kyle — the family’s chief breadwinner — out of work for a month.

To help the family out during these trying times, friend Alana Goossen set up a GoFundMe page on Feb. 13 called “Aubrey’s Heart Journey.”

As of Sunday, the fundraiser had passed its $2,000 goal, hitting $3,635.

In response to the campaign’s fast success, Goossen said she was happy to see the family in need receive the help they deserve.

Aubrey, she said, is “a tough kid and she has been through a lot.”

Brandi said funds in excess of the $2,000 goal would still go to help with costs associated with medical appointments, with followup trips to Winnipeg already scheduled alongside a number of checkups and the potential for more surgeries.

All things considered, she said Aubrey is doing well.

“Mornings are OK, but by afternoon she’s pretty tired — we don’t do much in the afternoon, we just chill.”

Born Jan. 15, 2016, Aubrey was diagnosed early on with a congenital heart defect known as tetralogy of fallot and has been subject to numerous medical stays since birth.

The youngster experienced one “excellent, normal year” until the summer of 2018, when she began struggling again.

Although the family initially blamed the hot summer temperatures, a cardiologist confirmed her heart was working harder than it should due to a re-emerging issue.

This meant a return to Edmonton in April 2019 in an effort to resolve the problem without invasive surgery, which proved unsuccessful.

From then, they’ve been waiting for Aubrey to become “sick enough” to receive surgery, which brings the family to next month’s appointment.

The pandemic has complicated this latest trip to Edmonton, Brandi said, noting although she and Kyle are allowed to be in the hospital, their youngest daughter, Lexi, 3, has to stay home in Brandon with her grandparents due to restrictions on the number of visitors.

That’s in addition to the two-week quarantine upon their return home to Manitoba.

Thankful for the donors who have come forward, including a number of generous strangers, Brandi said she’d like to see people turn their attention to another local family in need via another GoFundMe campaign.

As reported in today’s paper, Shaleena Bola and Garrett Hall have two young children currently facing health difficulties.

“I kind of want attention to go to them,” Brandi said. 

“We’ve reached our goal, so I want them to reach their goal as well.”

As of Sunday night, their fundraiser had also surpassed its goal.

Bola’s uncle, Martin Hales, who started the campaign, said the $10,000 goal was somewhat arbitrary and that excess funds would still go toward helping the family.

 

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB