St. Margaret Mary students discover the power of small acts

Something as simple as a free-dress day can help save a life.

When students at St. Margaret Mary School put together their modest donations for this privilege last February, the more than $1,000 in proceeds helped fund the surgery of an 8-year-old girl from Honduras named Carmen who needed an operation to repair a hole in the upper chambers of her heart.

Carmen was able to have her surgery performed at Children’s Hospital through HeartGift, a non-profit foundation that enables children with reparable congenital heart defects to access care in American hospitals.

“All of our teachers talk to us all the time about how we’re luckier than most people around the world,” said Abby Cappy, a St. Margaret Mary sixth grader. “When we heard there was a little girl that needed help and (who) was not as fortunate as us, we jumped at the chance.”

St. Margaret Mary students were informed about HeartGift through Stephanie Berault, a school parent who directs its New Orleans chapter. Since the local branch began in 2010, 22 children ages six months through 11 and hailing from 14 countries have been able to receive care at Children’s and return to their homes.

“One in every 1,000 kids in the U.S. and one out of every 100 kids in the world are affected by congenital heart disease,” said Berault, noting that Carmen’s condition is called atrial septal defect (ASD). If it had been left unattended, Carmen could have died in her early 20s, she said.

“She was in the hospital for six days – it was a full open-heart (surgery),” Berault said. “She left the hospital with aspirin, and now she’s no longer on any medication at all. Her heart is completely repaired. Once the bones are healed, she will live as if she had never been sick.”

In addition to raising the funds, St. Margaret Mary students welcomed Carmen to their school before and after her surgery and dedicated school Masses to her. To express their support beyond their Slidell campus, all students, under the guidance of art teacher Lisa Ramirez, made 3-D hearts to hang in the lobby of Children’s Hospital for the month of February. School families also spontaneously purchased gift cards so Carmen’s mother could take clothing, school supplies and toiletries home to her family in Honduras.

Carmen is the second child St. Margaret Mary has helped through HeartGift. In 2012, students there met and raised money for Julia, a then 4-year-old from the Philippines who had the same heart defect as Carmen.

“Her mother went back and has now referred other children to HeartGift,” Berault said. “They’re paying it forward,” Berault added. “When the hurricane hit there, they said, ‘We were so blessed when people helped us, now it’s our turn.’ (The mother) took Julia with her to deliver relief supplies.”

To the students, praying for and serving children in need is just a natural part of their faith’s mandate to be “the hands and feet of Jesus.”

“It makes me feel proud of my school and happy that we helped save somebody,” said sixth grader Jake Berault. “It’s pretty easy (to help); we don’t really have to do that much,” Jake said. “But all together, it does a lot for that one person.”

Berault welcomes inquiries from schools and parishes with a possible interest in supporting HeartGift through donations or by hosting a family. To learn more, call (504) 676-4323 or email [email protected].