A business owner in Lethbridge is calling on the southern Alberta community to show their support for a young girl awaiting open heart surgery.
When Wax Me Ltd. owner Linda Nowak was purchasing pet food at Feed Sam, a locally owned pet food store on the city’s north side, she noticed the store was selling raffle tickets.
The fundraiser is for Elizabeth Hoyt, an 11-year-old girl recently diagnosed with a congenital heart defect that went unnoticed at birth. Elizabeth is the daughter of Feed Sam owners, Valerie and Burton Hoyt.
For Nowak, Elizabeth’s situation hit close to home. Nowak was just 12 years old when she experienced her first cardiac arrest nearly 50 years ago.
“Fast-forwarding to today, I’ve had 20-plus heart surgeries. Some have been open-heart,” said Nowak. “When this story came to me when I was just purchasing pet food, it actually struck a chord with me, because I do understand what this family is going through, intimately.”
Remembering the struggles she and her family faced during her journey, Nowak decided she needed to do something to help.
“Maybe if somebody was there to help when we were going through it, it would have made a difference,” said Nowak. “I think we’re all here for the purpose of helping each other, and I feel I have the capability to hopefully make a difference in this family’s life.”
On May 4, Nowak and her team of Wax Me Ltd. estheticians will hold a “brow-a-thon.” For every customer who receives eyebrow waxing services that day, 50 per cent of the proceeds will be donated to the Hoyt family to help with costs associated with Elizabeth’s heart surgery.
Nowak is calling on other Lethbridge businesses to do the same.
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“I would love to present a challenge for other businesses to step up, whether it’s hair cutting or whether it is something they can do to help make a difference for this family,” said Nowak.
For Wax Me Ltd. clientele who are unable to participate in the “brow-a-thon,” Nowak has a donation jar at the front of her business dedicated to fundraising for Elizabeth.
Elizabeth is an elite cheerleader in addition to showing dogs competitively at the national level. With her extremely active lifestyle, her parents were shocked to learn their daughter’s heart was riddled with holes.
“An active girl like her with no symptoms – you’re just not expecting that kind of diagnosis,” said Valerie. “If left into adulthood, (doctors) say around the age of 18, if it’s not caught, there’s a high risk for stroke or heart failure.”
Elizabeth says while it was difficult to process the news of her diagnosis, she’s ready to get the surgery over with so she can go back to doing the things she loves.
“I think I was mostly scared for if anything happens with the surgery and recovering,” said Elizabeth. “After that, I got really excited. As long as it goes good, I think there’s nothing that can go wrong.”
The Hoyts were flooded with emotion to learn of Nowak’s fundraising efforts.
“To know there’s that much community support – it’s absolutely overwhelming,” Valerie said.
Elizabeth is scheduled for surgery in Edmonton on May 27, followed by a lengthy recovery process that will require the Hoyts to take at least two months off work.
“There’s a lot of restrictions with open heart surgery. She’s not going to be able to use her hands for a significant amount of time,” said Valerie. “There will also be multiple trips to Calgary Children’s Hospital. It’s a process for sure.”
To help with costs, the Hoyts have collaborated with Young Spirit Supplies Direct to Film (YSSDTF), a Lethbridge custom apparel business, to create Proud Supporter of a Heart Warrior T-shirts. All proceeds, minus the cost of the shirt, will be donated directly to a fund for Elizabeth.
“They can be personalized,” said Valerie, wearing a Proud Mom of a Heart Warrior T-shirt, herself. “It can say proud dad, proud supporter, proud auntie, proud brother. Elizabeth’s T-shirt says I am a Heart Warrior.”
Anyone who purchases a T-shirt is asked to scan a QR code printed on the garment and upload a photo of themselves wearing the shirt to a special Facebook page dedicated to Elizabeth; to let her know she isn’t alone on her journey.
“Whether somebody wants to order a shirt and take a photo and send it to Elizabeth, or they just want to give her support or words of encouragement while she’s in the hospital,” said Valerie, “she can go through (the page) and just know that there’s people out there who are thinking about her.”
Proud Supporter of a Heart Warrior T-shirts can be purchased on the YSSDTF website, and photos or messages of support for Elizabeth can be sent to the Heart Warrior Elizabeth Facebook page.
E-transfer donations can be sent to [email protected].
Watch the video in the player above to learn more.
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