Welcome home, Harper | Frostburg girl, 9, out of hospital after heart transplant
Apr. 24—FROSTBURG — Alison Drew talked of feeling happily overwhelmed by support the community has shown her daughter who underwent a heart transplant in March.
After more than six months in the hospital, local police and fire departments escorted Harper Struntz, 9, home as area residents lined Main Street in Frostburg Monday.
"It was wonderful," Drew, a Frostburg resident, said.
"(Harper) was completely shocked," she said. "She was crying. They were happy tears."
The homecoming was "a day we will never forget," Drew said.
As Harper's medical care will be ongoing, financial help has been organized for her family.
On Tuesday, the Gofundme account Healing Harper had raised $15,470 from 268 donors.
"We just want to say 'thank you,'" Drew said. "We knew we had an army behind us of prayer warriors ... but (the community's support) has just been amazing."
'World has changed'
"(Harper) was always a very healthy child," Drew said.
The girl had just started third grade at Frost Elementary School when she got sick in September.
Initially, doctors said she might have a stomach virus.
Harper's condition worsened, however, and soon her liver began to shut down.
"She was also in heart and kidney failure," Drew said. "She was so sick."
Harper was admitted to UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in October.
Open-heart surgery followed, and Harper "hemorrhaged drastically," her mom said.
"She's had several blood transfusions," Drew said.
Harper underwent procedures including kidney dialysis.
In December, she was listed as a priority patient for a heart transplant.
Harper received a new heart in March, and recently lived at the Ronald McDonald House near the hospital until she was discharged Monday.
Today, "she's doing wonderful," her mom said and added her daughter will be tutored this summer to catch up with her class and move forward to fourth grade in the fall.
"She's really excited to see her friends again," Drew said.
In addition to Harper's family, including her father, Chad Struntz, half-sister Skylar Stewart and grandparents Lauree and Mark Drew, Alison Drew talked of people from around the world who have reached out to show support for her daughter.
"Our whole world has changed," Drew said and talked of her gratitude for the donor who gave Harper a heart. "It was a beautiful blessing."
'Thinking about others'
Andy Tichnell got to know Alison Drew several years ago when she worked for the family's business.
"My wife owned the Corner Market in Frostburg," he said.
When Harper was younger, she drew pictures as get-well wishes for Tichnell's mother-in-law who had had a stroke.
He got choked up when he talked of the struggles Harper has faced in the past few months.
"It's emotional," Tichnell said of Harper's resilience and her family's gratitude for the heart donor.
"Her smile through it all, no complaining ... that gets you," he said. "She's truly a hero, an inspiration."
Tichnell, a lieutenant for the Cumberland Police Department, helped rally police and firefighters for Monday's homecoming.
"The community has really come together," he said of support for Harper and her family.
The homecoming for Harper event was organized by Nicole Brant, Tichnell said.
Brant, who works with Tichnell's wife at the Allegany County Human Resources Development Commission, said she followed the Facebook page Harper Strong.
She talked of a post on the page that expressed the family's appreciation for the heart donor and their loved ones.
"That touched me so much," Brant said. "They were thinking about others."
Several groups in the county contributed to Monday's homecoming including a local senior center and school students who made paper and cloth hearts for the event, she said.
"It's about giving just a piece of your heart to Harper and her family," Brant said.
Teresa McMinn is a reporter for the Cumberland Times-News. She can be reached at 304-639-2371 or tmcminn@times-news.com.
