Metro
BUYING
BIRTHDAY GIFT
Cover Story
from page 19
"She would never have made it if
she had left the hospital," said
Arianne's Aunt Gerrie Spalter of
West Bloomfield.
5 C
Happy Birthday, Arianne
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On Nov. 10, Arianne's 14th birth-
day, she received the gift of a life-
saving new heart.
"Before Arianne was taken into
surgery 25 people — family and
friends — surrounded her singing
`Happy Birthday,"' Spalter said.
"And they stayed with her right
up to the door of the operating
room. It took them two elevators
to get there. But when they got to
the operating room door, Arianne
was smiling.
Next, the group all went up to
the rooftop of the hospital to
watch the landing of the helicop-
ter transporting Arianne's new
heart. "It was an extremely scary
time," Andy said. "It doesn't get
much more serious than heart
transplant surgery."
Just 10 days later, Arianne was
home. With a high susceptibility to
infection, Arianne stayed out of
school for three months following
her surgery "During that time, she
home studied, mostly on her own
to stay caught up," Andy said.
Last week, Arianne finally
returned to classes.
At first, Arianne was seeing her
doctor each week and undergoing
heart biopsies twice a month. Now
her checkups and biopsies, which
have shown no rejection, take place
only once a month; she's down
from 50 pills a day to 35.
"It is so very important that peo-
ple are aware how critical it is to
support the organ donor program
and how many lives one person's
organs can affect," Spalter said.
"I'm sure she will be an inspiration
to others who face difficult situa-
tions."
Both Andy and Diane were
both registered as organ donors
before Arianne got sick. "But
before, the donor system was just
a medical process," Andy said. "It
was something we wanted to do
because when we die we know we
won't need our organs anymore
— and we would want them to
save someone's life. But now, we
know the inner workings of the
program and that it really, really
does work.
"While we were waiting during
Arianne's surgery, there was man
with us whose wife was having a
lung transplant from the same
donor. We were also told that other
transplant teams in other hospitals
transplanted the kidneys and liver
of the same woman. She saved four
lives that night."
The Schuurs are not sure if they
will contact the woman's family,
which they can do through a hospi-
tal program. "But to us, she is an
angel," Andy said.
Arianne's experience was life
changing for those who love her. "It
certainly made me change my pri-
orities and values," Spalter said.
"Things that I thought were so
very important suddenly take a
back seat."
"To look at her, she is so beauti-
ful," Spalter said. "You would
never know she has been going
through so much trauma. You
know there is a God when you see
someone you love receive a mira-
cle that saved her life." El
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Mounting Medical Bills
Arianne's medical expenses up to this point have been mostly cov-
ered by her family's health insurance. But future medications, which
currently are costing close to $2,700 per month, are not covered by
insurance.
Arianne, like most transplant recipients will have to take many
expensive medications for the rest of her life, said her parents.
A fund-raising campaign called "Project Heart Strings" has been
set up to help cover future medication and medical costs for
Arianne. A goal has been set of raising at least $250,000 to be
invested for Arianne medical expenses. Tax-deductible donations
may be made by electronic transfer to any Washington Mutual
Branch location using account number 0980078531.
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2/10
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