Lilly’s Got A Heart, Shark Got Heart but Ava’s Heart Is the Biggest Heart of All

In life there are a lot of people who go unnoticed, unrewarded, undervalued, and under appreciated those in my opinion are the real heroes and heroines of the world. Let’s just remove the names and titles and say that we are all a part of a human species, we have a variety of likes and dislikes and things that we bear which are commonalities that we share as humans. When I met Ava Kaufman, a former touring dancer for the likes of Gloria Gaynor and Donna Summer, many years ago and she shared her story of how she came to be the heroine and champion for heart transplant patients and their families, I could not help but share it. Nominated for CNN-Hero Award as an active mother, her lifestyle had been non-stop busy, then suddenly, out of the blue, in 2009 she underwent an emergency heart-transplant surgery at Cedars Sinai due to a rare autoimmune disease, dermatomyositis, which attacks the body, tissue and muscle. The disease quickly elevated, rendering helpless, her heart muscle, resulting in a coma, organ failure and the necessity of life-support. In 2011, she founded the 501 ( c) non-profit organization, Ava’s Heart. Since those days of not so long ago, Ava has never been sick and completely dedicated to the forward movement and transformative process of bringing the possibility of life after transplants to other supporters. The term heart transplant lacks the kind of momentum that it needs to bring more startling awareness of evidence to the public. It is unbelievable how many people have no idea what heart transplants are. With a lack of understanding at the seriousness of transplants from both the public and almost no medical centers, hospitals or facilities hospitals save for Cedars. The devastation alone of having to encounter the circumstances that provoked a transplant is beyond the comprehension of most of us. Ava’s House an unusual concept from the minds of the brilliant. Fact: Many recipients live within a strict radius (within 30-60) minutes to qualify for a heart transplant. The house provides at no cost for patients and caregivers who have to travel to Los Angeles for treatment. Assist low-income vulnerable patients with essential non-medical expenses, including transportations, medical equipment and post-transplant prescriptions. Offers emotional and financial assistance for burial expenses to families who make the gift of organ donation. Educates communities on organ donation registry and advocates against social inequities in transplant eligibility. Close supporters like co-writer of Sharks Heart and Lilly’s Heart, Tina Hill (writing as K.B. Hill), born in Winnipeg, Canada to architect, Carl Nelson and ornithologist, mother, Colleen Helgeson, she was the sixth of seven children. Heart Transplant and its various physicalities can have deep impact on those who without advocates like Ava and Tina would live a lonely and filled with the wait of death life to endure. Heart Shark is a true accounting of Ava’s unbelievable journey into surviving a deadly autoimmune disease and rebirth of simultaneously. Hill is also partnered with Ava on Lilly’s Heart a children’s story and coloring book designed to help children understand the complicated and heartfelt journey of heart transplants. For more information on how to support Ava's Heart Foundation see https://avasheart.org.