Blog
14 Year Old Needs Heart Transplant
- Details
- Category: Blog
- Published: Wednesday, 03 April 2019 08:51
Amanda Horst, 14, daughter of Galen and Patricia, was recently diagnosed with a rare heart condition known as restrictive cardiomyopathy. Amanda’s family is in serious need of love, prayers, donations and specifically Toronto housing within close proximity to Sick Kids hospital to provide for monitoring and to await a critical heart transplant.
There are no therapies or cures for children with RCM, except for heart transplantation—Amanda’s only hope for survival and eventual return to a normal lifestyle.
For years, Amanda’s family and parents Galen and Patricia Horst have lived a very family-oriented rural life on their Renfrew family farm. As an energetic, polite, respectful and beautiful teen, Amanda participated in the family’s homeschool, household and farm chores and animal care (especially her own goat herd) and has been big sister to 5 younger siblings. She also has one older brother. She has a sincere love for nature, life and her family.
When symptoms of her condition began—including chest pain, dizziness and passing out from simple daily living activities—the family was sent to CHEO hospital in Ottawa. Further tests revealed a worst-case scenario no parents wished to hear—restrictive cardiomyopathy.
The immediate priority is to enable this family to relocate close to Sick Kids hospital. In addition to housing, this will require a great deal of transportation to and from the family farm to keep the farm and the business running as well as possible during this time (typically 6 months to 2 years). Your kindness will help to cover the high level of costs involved during this stressful, exhausting time for the family and for Amanda.
The friends and family of the Horsts cannot thank everyone enough for the outpouring of love and kindness at the beginning of this journey.
