When Victoria was 3 months old she unexpectedly went into cardiac arrest while at home. 911 was called and her dad, Charles Wert, performed CPR on her until emergency medical services arrived, most likely saving her life. Once at the hospital it was discovered that she had an undiagnosed coarctation of the aorta, which is a birth defect in which a part of the aorta is narrower than usual.
Since her condition went undetected little Victoria suffered a heart attack which ultimately prevented oxygen from getting to her still-developing brain causing her to suffer hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, which is a brain injury due to a decrease in oxygen or blood flow.
“She spent two months in the hospital where life and her future was unknown at that time,” Elizabeth Wert, Victoria’s mom, told us.
Victoria sits in her new adaptive go-anywhere chair which is waterproof allowing it to be used at the beach, the pool, in a park or during bath time.
Victoria spent another month in a rehabilitation center for feeding therapy so she could go home without the need for a feeding tube.
“Our lives had changed as we knew them,” Elizabeth acknowledges of that time. “They are now filled with doctor’s appointments, therapies, insurance calls, emotional roller coasters and so much more.”
Thankfully, Victoria’s heart surgery proved to be successful as her heart is healthy and working perfectly now.
“In the beginning we were told Victoria would not have much quality of life. We knew our girl was a fighter and would prove the doctors wrong,” Elizabeth wrote to us.
And she was right. Today, Victoria proudly walks with the help of a gait trainer and is able to eat by mouth. Although she has a limited vocabulary, receptively she is able to understand so much of what is being said to her which is apparent by her larger-than-life personality. Incredibly, she has not had a seizure since her injury occurred over 3 years ago.
While her progress has been nothing short of amazing, Victoria’s parents and sisters want her to keep moving forward as she’s proven to do every day. To help her with this goal, they requested a walking harness device called an Upsee so that she can experience what it’s like to not only take steps but to bare weight on her legs. Additionally, because Victoria’s family is a very active family they wanted a Splashy, an easily transportable chair that can be used at the beach, by the pool or even in the bathtub.
Holton’s Heroes was able to purchase these wonderful devices for Victoria and her family thanks to one of our charity’s youngest supporters, 12-year-old Asher Gabay.
Asher’s Bar Mitzvah is in October of this year and to keep with Jewish tradition, Asher wanted to do a mitzvah and give back to his community in honor of this sacred ceremony. Since Asher has known Holton his whole life, he’s always shown a heightened level of compassion for children with impairments since he’s seen first hand the type of expensive equipment children with brain injuries require.
Asher Gabay poses with Victoria and her family after gifting them a new bath chair and therapy walking harness. Asher raised over $7,400 for Holton’s Heroes as part of his Bar Mitzvah project.
No stranger to raising awareness and funds for Holton’s Heroes, Asher set up a Gofundme with the help of his mom, and Holton’s Heroes board member, Paige Gabay. Within a few weeks Asher and his family had managed to raise over $7,000 to help children served by Holton’s Heroes.
“Today was a pretty special day,” Asher wrote to his supporters on April 30. “I was able to meet one of the heroes I have been helping and bring her two pieces of equipment that will help her play with her sisters and play during bath time. Victoria is so sweet and I want to thank all of you that helped me pass my goal for my bar mitzvah project!”
Asher’s efforts won’t stop at Victoria though, as Asher raised enough money to also purchase an expensive therapy stander for a child named Abram who lives in Arkansas and an adaptive stroller for little girl named Chanel who lives in California.
We are so thankful for Asher and his family’s help, as it is their compassion and love for the community that allows us to thrive. Please know that we are only able to continue to help kids recovering from brain injuries with your personal support. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift directly to our foundation today. You can donate safely here.
Make sure to visit us on Instagram to see more of our heroes and other fun updates!
“Thank you so much for doing all of this. We are just so incredibly touched! We need more kids like [Asher] and his family in this world.”
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