Funds Sought For Etna Green Girl With Heart Woes
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
Shepherd, Etna Green, turns 9 years old Sunday and will undergo a fourth heart surgery April 3 at Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Shepherd's aunt, Sandy Grubbs, Silver Lake, has set up an account at Lake City Bank for the community to help raise funds to pay for Shepherd's medical expenses.[[In-content Ad]]People can donate to the fund by visiting any Lake City Bank branch and asking to donate to the Taylor Shepherd fund.
Shepherd was born with a large hole in her heart and has problems with her heart valve and artery.
The surgery Shepherd will receive next month will repair the conduit valve and fix the leak in her heart. Shepherd was born with a heart condition and underwent her first open heart surgery at 13 days old.
She currently is a third-grader at Mentone Elementary School. She said she enjoys jumping rope, hula hooping, and likes "Hannah Montana" and wants to be a fashion designer some day.
Her mother, Renee Atkins, said her daughter's school has been a big help in raising funds to help pay for Shepherd's medical bills.
The school held a fundraiser during Jump Rope For Heart where children purchased paper hearts and wrote messages on the hearts that Shepherd will take to the hospital to read.
"The medical bills put a lot of financial strain on me because I support Taylor on my own. The bills pile up and I try to pay what I can, but it is hard to stay on top of the bills," Atkins said. "Taylor is an amazing girl to be able to go through what she has gone through."
Taylor's grandmother, Erma Atkins, Warsaw, said the family has been through a lot.
"Taylor is very special and is quite a fighter to go through what she has gone through," Atkins said.
Erma said a couple of years ago the family didn't think Taylor would come home from the hospital because of her health problems.
Shepherd has a sister, Courtney, 2, and a half brother, Dakotah, 16.
In April 2000, Grubbs and Shepherd's mother took her in to get her weight checked and the doctor discovered a loud heart murmur.
In May 2001, Shepherd had open-heart surgery to repair the hole in her heart and to try to widen the pulmonary arteries. She was on life support for 18 hours and she had to have a heart catheterization.
In summer 2003, she had another heart catheterization and she was outgrowing her arteries.
While her arteries ballooned, they overextended and bled into her lung. She was given medication to paralyze her for 2-1/2 weeks and was in the hospital for 3-1/2 weeks.
In July 2007 she had to go in for a third open-heart surgery. She had an artificial tri-cuspid valve and conduit put into her to widen the flow to the pulmonary arteries. It was discovered her intestines were on the wrong side and her appendix was up around her rib cage.
Shepherd was in the intensive care unit for four weeks and couldn't eat.
She went back into the hospital October 2007 for surgery to repair her internal organs. She had her appendix removed and gallbladder and her intestines were moved where they were supposed to be.
In 2008 her heart was beating irregularly and her heart was shocked and put back in rhythm. She had a heart catheterization after that and a tri-cuspid valve was found to be leaking and the conduit valve had a lot of scaring and calcium built up on it.
Shepherd, Etna Green, turns 9 years old Sunday and will undergo a fourth heart surgery April 3 at Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Shepherd's aunt, Sandy Grubbs, Silver Lake, has set up an account at Lake City Bank for the community to help raise funds to pay for Shepherd's medical expenses.[[In-content Ad]]People can donate to the fund by visiting any Lake City Bank branch and asking to donate to the Taylor Shepherd fund.
Shepherd was born with a large hole in her heart and has problems with her heart valve and artery.
The surgery Shepherd will receive next month will repair the conduit valve and fix the leak in her heart. Shepherd was born with a heart condition and underwent her first open heart surgery at 13 days old.
She currently is a third-grader at Mentone Elementary School. She said she enjoys jumping rope, hula hooping, and likes "Hannah Montana" and wants to be a fashion designer some day.
Her mother, Renee Atkins, said her daughter's school has been a big help in raising funds to help pay for Shepherd's medical bills.
The school held a fundraiser during Jump Rope For Heart where children purchased paper hearts and wrote messages on the hearts that Shepherd will take to the hospital to read.
"The medical bills put a lot of financial strain on me because I support Taylor on my own. The bills pile up and I try to pay what I can, but it is hard to stay on top of the bills," Atkins said. "Taylor is an amazing girl to be able to go through what she has gone through."
Taylor's grandmother, Erma Atkins, Warsaw, said the family has been through a lot.
"Taylor is very special and is quite a fighter to go through what she has gone through," Atkins said.
Erma said a couple of years ago the family didn't think Taylor would come home from the hospital because of her health problems.
Shepherd has a sister, Courtney, 2, and a half brother, Dakotah, 16.
In April 2000, Grubbs and Shepherd's mother took her in to get her weight checked and the doctor discovered a loud heart murmur.
In May 2001, Shepherd had open-heart surgery to repair the hole in her heart and to try to widen the pulmonary arteries. She was on life support for 18 hours and she had to have a heart catheterization.
In summer 2003, she had another heart catheterization and she was outgrowing her arteries.
While her arteries ballooned, they overextended and bled into her lung. She was given medication to paralyze her for 2-1/2 weeks and was in the hospital for 3-1/2 weeks.
In July 2007 she had to go in for a third open-heart surgery. She had an artificial tri-cuspid valve and conduit put into her to widen the flow to the pulmonary arteries. It was discovered her intestines were on the wrong side and her appendix was up around her rib cage.
Shepherd was in the intensive care unit for four weeks and couldn't eat.
She went back into the hospital October 2007 for surgery to repair her internal organs. She had her appendix removed and gallbladder and her intestines were moved where they were supposed to be.
In 2008 her heart was beating irregularly and her heart was shocked and put back in rhythm. She had a heart catheterization after that and a tri-cuspid valve was found to be leaking and the conduit valve had a lot of scaring and calcium built up on it.
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