Happy birthday Teagan!
Teagan celebrated her 1st birthday and is Casey Cares' 615th birthday this year!
Casey Cares knows that for a critically ill child, each birthday is a special milestone celebrating life. For the children in our programs, it not only marks another year, but it also demonstrates a great achievement. Casey Cares staff and volunteers work hard to send out each of our kids a special birthday package through our Birthday Blast program - we send over 1,000 a year! This simple act of kindness delivers joy and hope to our kids who are undergoing treatment.
How Casey Cares Supports Teagan!
Teagan is diagnosed with AVSD, a congenital heart defect, and also has Down Syndrome.
Casey Cares focuses on providing free programs for the entire family, not simply the sick child, to enjoy. Since joining in 2022, Teagan and her family have gone to see the stunts at Nitro Extreme!, received Movie & Pizza Night packages, and fun games!
Her mother Morgan states, “One of our favorites from Casey Cares so far was our movie night box! It was great to just get our entire family together and enjoy a night together with pizza, popcorn, and of course candy! So thoughtful and sweet."
She adds, “We are also very excited to use our zoo tickets we received for zoo lights this year! We couldn’t make it this summer due to Teagan’s big surgery and still being inpatient until November.”
Morgan appreciates that, “Casey Cares is just the thoughtful giving and gifting they do just to bring sunshine and happiness to families during some of the hardest battles. We are forever grateful for the love and kindness they have shown and continue to show us!”
AVSD + PCICU Birthday
The family discovered Teagan’s congenital heart defect at her 20-week anatomy scan. From there, the mother of three compares Teagan’s AVSD journey to a roller coaster.
“We have buckled up as a family and are along for the ride, all the highs and all the lows. We wouldn’t trade any of it for nothing. Of course, we wish we could take away some if not all of what she has to endure but know that we will always be right be her side through it all,” she says.
Morgan shares that Teagan “is the strongest little heart warrior we know. We admire her and she has taught us so much about life in her just 1 year of it so far. She had taught us to never ever give up, keep our faith strong, always look for the positives, and just have fun and be happy as much as we can!”
For her daughter’s birthday, Teagan “is still inpatient in the PCICU at Cleveland Clinic after her open-heart surgery that was completed in September. We have hit many road bumps but are continuing to improve daily. Our plan is to still celebrate and party for our girl! We will be decorating her room here as we would at home! We ordered cake for all the hospital staff to enjoy with us and plan to order pizza for them as well! Teagan was extubated 4 days before her birthday so [we're] hoping she’s up for tasting some cake!”
“Her birthday is so special to us because it was the day our family became complete! We have our 3 precious girls!” she says.
Morgan concludes, “Teagan is just such a pure joy and we are so blessed to call her ours. We will always be here by her side cheering her on and advocating for the very best for our girls in every situation!”
Want to learn more? Check out an article in the Richland Source here!