Middle School students raise funds for fellow classmate
Students at Malvern Elementary School recently applied their unique fashion sense toward raising money for the family of a fellow student whose younger brother has heart health issues and is undergoing surgery in Pittsburgh today.
Three-year-old Adler Chadwick, brother to 3rdgrade MES student Addison Mcdade and a oneyear-old baby sister, was born in May 2019 with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) called Ebstein’s anomaly. His parents, Megan and Riley Chadwick, have been searching high and low for the right treatment plan ever since.
“We did not know he had a heart defect until a few hours after he was born and he was Angel flighted to Arkansas Children’s Hospital,” Megan stated in a written correspondence.
According to the American Heart Association, CHD results “when the heart, or blood vessels near the heart, don’t develop normally before birth.” There are over 40 types of CHD and currently, no cure.
Adler’s type of defect is where the tricuspid valve, which controls blood flow from the right atrium to the right ventricle, is in the wrong position, while the valve’s leaflets, or “flaps” that lie between the chambers of the heart, are malformed. This type is rare and requires surgery in severe cases.
“His first of many heart caths was when he was 3 days old, BT Shunt surgery at 9 days old, and Glenn surgery at 6 months,” Megan stated when describing Adler’s past procedures.
Adler’s heart has not grown or improved function in the way doctors had hoped it would after his last surgery, so after getting multiple opinions, Megan and Riley chose to continue his treatment with doctors at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, which houses the Da Silva Center for Ebstein’s Anomaly—part of the renowned Heart Health Institute, and so named for one of the doctors who will be performing Adler’s surgery and who has expertise in treating this type of defect.
“Ebsteins only makes up for less than one percent of
all people diagnosed with a congenital heart defect,” Megan stated, meaning the experience Dr. Jose Pedro da Silva and his medical associate and wife, Dr. Luciana da Fonseca da Silva, have with this particular defect is invaluable for Adler’s medical outlook.
“Hat Day for Team Adler” took place Tuesday at MES and allowed students who donated $1 to wear a hat of their choosing all day on campus. These incredible students, through their generosity of spirit, raised a whopping $775 for the family of their fellow and future Leopards.
The proceeds will help the Chadwick family with food, fuel, lodging and other costs associated with their trip out of state to find the best care for their son.
MES Counselor, Becky Hedges, shared that Adler’s mom stated, “Even after Adler’s surgery, he will not be ‘fixed.’ That’s the hardest part to know. Yes, he will be better, but it will be a lifelong battle.”
Anyone who would like to keep up with Adler’s story can use the hashtags #adlerstrong or #teamadler on social media. Megan also has an album on her personal Facebook page devoted to Adler’s experience titled “Adler’s Heart Journey 2023.”