Addie Dotson was diagnosed with a rare heart condition, Taussig-Bing syndrome, when she was four months old.
Her grandmother, Dianne Dotson, said the family was shocked by the diagnosis.
"The blood that gets back to Addie's body is not oxygenated sufficiently, it's only partially oxygenated," said Dotson. "It takes a lot of energy for her to just do normal body functions."
"She's just beautiful and perfect, that's one of the hard things about it. When you see her, it's hard to understand that she's so sick," Dotson said.
Now, Addie's almost five months old and has been in and out of WVU Children's Hospital for the past month.
She is awaiting surgery, which has not been scheduled yet, but her grandmother hopes it's sooner rather than later.
"As soon as she feels she's ready, [doctors] don't think she'll benefit by waiting. They need to get it done," Dotson said.
On Thursday, January 31, family friend Elaine Sinclair held a fundraiser for Addie and her family.
About 20 people came out to show their support and sew penny rugs.
"The hearts on each rug represents Addie's heart," Sinclair said.
The fundraising goal was to raise $500. Sinclair said they came close and raised a few hundred dollars
"The proceeds are going to the mom and dad for the necessities they need. They do have insurance, but their insurance is not enough to cover their food or their coffee or gas back and forth, so anything is helpful," Sinclair said.
Juanita Emerson wanted to show her support for the family.
"It's very important because they're such special people. I've known them for so many years, they're like my own family, and I know it's got to be very hard to have somebody this sick and not knowing what's going to happen," Emerson said.
Addie's grandmother said once Addie has the surgery, it could be a long recovery time, but the family is remaining optimistic.
To show your support for Addie and her family, you can purchase a bracelet at Salem Florists on 112 East Main Street in Salem, or donate through her Facebook page:
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