2021 Kids Day Ambassador: Meet Elise Hales. She loves ballet and gymnastics
.jpeg "Elise Hales is the 2021 Valley Children’s Hospital Kids Day Ambassador. Her mother says Elise and her George the giraffe doll (the hospital’s mascot) are inseparable.")
Jennifer and Jason Hales never knew anything was amiss with their daughter, Elise, until a doctor performing a routine checkup heard a clicking sound in her heart.
Tests revealed that the 5-year-old had a partial anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR).
“She needed a life-saving heart procedure from the doctors at Valley Children’s to allow proper blood flow to her lungs and body,” Jennifer said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, anomalous pulmonary venous return is a birth defect of the heart. In a baby with TAPVR, oxygen-rich blood does not return from the lungs to the left atrium. Instead, the oxygen-rich blood returns to the right side of the heart. Here, oxygen-rich blood mixes with oxygen-poor blood.
It was a hidden birth defect. The Haleses never noticed anything odd. Jennifer Hales said her daughter would participate in gymnastics and ballet, and even joined a hike on a family outing.
“She didn’t have any limitations,” Jennifer said. “She had very high energy. It was a complete shock to us that there was a defect. There was a time where we asked were we doing the right thing because she seemed like a healthy, happy little girl. But, of course, we knew we were after understanding.”
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Elise had surgery on June 22, 2020. Less than a year later, Valley Children’s Hospital named Elise the 2021 Kids Day Ambassador.
Jennifer said Elise’s teacher at Freedom Elementary School in Clovis helped Elise understand the significance of the honor.
“She said, ‘Wow, it is kind of like you were student of the week for Valley Children’s. It was like you were kind of highlighted and shared your story and your journey with Valley Children’s.’
“When she realized it was something to be proud of herself, she was really excited about it. She jumped up and down. When we took her to take pictures, she was just holding her little George giraffe that they gave her and she sleeps with it every night.”
Jennifer said she’ll never forget that day when the doctor told the family the bad news. But that bad news turned into a good reminder for other families.
“It is so important to get those checkups because you never know what could happen,” Jennifer said.
“It is nice knowing we have Valley Children’s right here in the Valley and it was comforting that we could, with modern medicine, have her heart repaired and saved her life. Elise loves Valley Children’s. She always asks if we’re going there when we have her doctor’s appointment and she feels very safe and happy. When people ask her about it, she feels excited. We were really happy to have her be a part of this.”
This story was originally published March 9, 2021 at 12:01 AM.
