Matters of the heart

Smith sisters wait for transplants

Published Thursday, May 1, 2008

By Mandy Bourgeois

Natalie Van Noy has discovered that her new community has no shortage of love for her two little girls.

When she moved to the community of Briar over the summer from North Richland Hills and enrolled her two oldest children at Boyd Elementary, she never realized she would need so much from the people in the community. But now, while Emily, 6, and Shayde Smith, 8, wait for new hearts, their classmates, teachers and people who only know their names and photographs have lined up to support the girls.

Emily and Shayde were recently diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the walls of the lower chambers of the heart stiffen. The hardening of the ventricles restricts their flexibility as they fill with blood. Over time, the heart loses the ability to pump blood effectively, leading to heart failure.

"There is no treatment for this," Natalie said. "It's a transplant, and that is our only option."

Natalie watched her girls and their brother, Ethan, 2, in the living room of their home in Briar. Shayde curled up on the couch with a journal and wrote carefully on the pages.

"I just write about what I like about school and stuff," she said.

Emily's attention switched from playing with a Barbie to plastic dogs. Then she laughed and smiled shyly as she curled up with a blanket under the coffee table.

Natalie talked candidly about the girls' condition and how much time they have to find two hearts.

"With Emily, hopefully a year," she said of the timeline to find a compatible heart. "Her heart is more severe than Shayde's.

"They know everything that's going on," she said. "Both of the girls are well aware of their situation."

With their condition comes strict orders to limit physical activity. For Emily, no playing during recess, no running and no sports or games that would cause her to breathe hard.

"Emily's kind of a tomboy. It's hard to pull her out of those things," Natalie said.

With their lives revolving around doctor's visits and a stressful wait for two very important gifts, Natalie carries the burden on her shoulders while trying to keep her emotions in check.

"It's all business - make sure they make their doctor's appointments and staying strong for them. If I'm falling apart, then it doesn't help them," she said. "It's showed me I'm a lot stronger than I thought I was. I've got to stay positive. This is our focus. This is our daily thing."

After the girls were diagnosed, family, friends and members of the community have come forward and offered their support. Fundraisers have been organized by motorcyclists groups in the Metroplex and near Abilene.

The money will go toward the family's living expenses and additional medical expenses.

Natalie is no longer working so she can take care of the girls and her son.

"If we have to stay in a hotel or if the car breaks down, this will help," Natalie said. "I'm not working now, so this will cover things I wouldn't be able to afford."

Staff at Boyd Elementary have organized a golf tournament for the girls for Saturday at the Bridgeport Country Club.

"They are amazing," Natalie said of the people in the community. "I moved out here for a reason. The school is absolutely amazing. I have family and friends who would be out here in a minute if I needed them."

The girls are on a transplant list and the family has no idea when a heart could come along.

"It could be any day now. It could be several months," Natalie said. "We've met lots of kids who have come out of transplants, so we're hopeful.

"Keep us in your prayers. It's a blessing to be out here."