Make-A-Wish: Clara's story

Yahoo

15-05-2025

MADISON, Ala. (WHNT) — News 19 is partnering with Make-A-Wish Alabama for our Wishes Can't Wait telethon.
In the weeks leading up to that June 11 event, we wanted to share the stories of some children in our viewing area who are Wish Kids. This is so you can see the faces of those who benefit from your donations. Every dollar raised stays here in Alabama.
18-year-old Clara Hammond is a gifted artist. Her work is award-winning. Recently, she was recognized for Youth Art Month by the Huntsville Museum of Art for a 3D piece of her heart.
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'What's better than a heart that you can look at? One you can look inside of,' Clara said.
The project revealed exactly how unique Clara's heart truly is. If you aren't a doctor, you may not notice. Clara's left and right ventricles are swapped; an extremely rare heart defect called CCTGA.
'Less than 1% of all babies that are born with a heart defect have her heart defect,' Clara's mom, Erica, said.
Erica and Clara's dad, Aaron, adopted her from China when she was a toddler, knowing her medical journey would not be easy.
'She was two and a half [years old] and 18 pounds. She was tiny,' Aaron said.
In addition to CCTGA, she had a hole in her heart and an issue with her Mitral Valve. She needed surgery.
'March 2009, she had her first open heart surgery,' Erica said.
Clara lived mostly symptom-free for years. She grew up and found her passions in art and food. While her dad loved doing sports with her two older brothers, he found a hobby to enjoy with Clara, too.
'We like going to art museums together, so it sort of became our thing. We'd go to an art museum, and then we'd go somewhere to lunch afterwards,' Clara said.
In 2023, her life came to a halt. The charismatic teen started having trouble doing simple things like climbing the stairs at school.
'I thought I was just being really lazy and out of shape, because all I like to do is lay in bed and eat,' she said. 'And do art!'
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Not wanting to alarm anyone, she kept it to herself. Soon after that though, lounging became a challenge.
'When I would lay down to sleep, I felt like I was drowning. I'd lay down and then like, shoot myself back up.'
She also stopped eating.
'I was hungry, but I couldn't eat because I just felt full. Which, turns out, was the 17 pounds of fluid that was inside of me,' she said.
Those 17 pounds of fluid were accompanied by swollen legs. Clara was in heart failure.
'I think we always knew that day might come, but you never expect it to show up,' Aaron said.
The most harrowing part of the journey was the 'what-ifs' running through Clara's parents' minds. Clara's younger brother, John Thomas, died from complications with his heart. He was adopted shortly after Clara from China, along with Clara's younger sister, Julia.
At first, doctors thought it might be time for Clara to have a heart transplant. Once they removed the fluid around her heart, they found another way. They could do another open-heart surgery and fix her valve.
'The night before surgery, we stayed up almost the whole night. She was painting her nails, andwe watched food shows. That's what we did so much in the hospital. So we did that all night,' Erica said.
The family kept Clara happy and comfortable while they prayed for a successful surgery. After eight-and-a-half hours, they received news.
'It worked and I'm back and I'm normal and things are going great!' Clara said.
'It is a testament to the good Lord, but she is amazing. She is the easiest patient in the world to care for,' Erica said.
In fact, while she was in the hospital recovering, Clara hand-drew 'Thank You' cards to her doctors and nurses. It was the first time she drew a diagram of her CCTGA heart.
'With all that going on, I think it would be easy for somebody to look at themselves and only think of themselves, but that's not what she did. She was thinking of everybody else and just how much she appreciated them taking care of her. She was very grateful,' Aaron said.
Clara's only qualm with it all is the 'tck tck tck' sound of her new mechanical Tricuspid Valve. That piece of metal is what kept her from needing a transplant. Clara said while she's grateful for it, the sound is rather distracting.
'A normal person doesn't even need a stethoscope to hear it because it's just that loud!' she said. 'Which I despise because I can't sleep.'
That new sound, however, allows her to have her old life. That surgery led her to Make-A-Wish Alabama. She is asking the Wish Team for a trip to the Big Apple to celebrate doing all of her favorite things again, since New York is the art capital of the U.S. It has every food Clara can possibly think of too.
'New York has, like, the biggest art museum, the Metropolitan, which is super cool,' she said.
Her parents and sister can't wait to go on the trip with her.
'I'm just thrilled that she feels well enough to go on a trip and that she can eat now because she loves to eat, so it's definitely a blessing,' Erica said.
If you're interested in helping Make-A-Wish Alabama grant wishes like Clara's, you can donate to News 19's 'Wishes Can't Wait' telethon right now! Click here.
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