A Silent Auction and Chili Dinner fundraiser for a local girl who needs a heart transplant has been set for Nov. 29.
‘Team Gabby: Fighting for a Beat’ aims to raise money for 12-year old Gabby Barbre who is currently in the ICU unit at the children’s hospital in Dallas.
“They are currently meeting with transplant teams and starting the evaluations necessary to proceed,” said event organizers. “They are in the ICU where they are trying to get Gabby’s heart strong enough to handle a transplant.”
On July 24, Gabby complained of chest pain and after her dad, Jack took her to the ER they found out her heart was “big” and were told to follow up with a Pediatric Cardiologist. It was then she was diagnosed with ventricular inversion, the Epstein anomaly, and other heart defects.
“Gabby was scheduled to have open-heart surgery on Oct. 19 to put a band around her pulmonary artery but once they opened her up they realized there was no way this procedure could be done safely. Once the surgery was finished, her parents met with the surgeon and found out that her heart had gotten even worse and the surgery could not be done leaving her with the news that the only route left is a heart transplant.
Gabby has been a gymnast since she was six-years-old and recently joined Sky Athletics Cheerleading & Tumbling in which she and her team were recently named National Champions.
Now Gabby’s cheerleading family is coming together to show their support for one of their own.
“One of our own Sky Athletics girls is in need of lots of prayers and support,” said Brook Dunning. “Gabby is such a sweet girl and a talented athlete who deserves nothing but the best.”
The silent auction and chili dinner will be held at the Family Fun Center, 2625 Spur 195 in Paris, on Nov.29 beginning at 2:30 p.m. All proceeds will go directly to Gabby’s family.
A GoFundMe page has also been set up with the goal of raising $50,000. As of Monday, Oct. 26, more than $7,000 has been donated. To donate, click here
“Please come out to our Sky Athletics Annual Showoff and watch the teams perform and support ‘Fighting for a Beat’ fundraiser to help support Gabby and her family.”