Claire Carmody

Claire Carmody is a unique, charismatic, musical girl! She lives in the mountains of rural Montana with her family: her dad (Aaron), her mom (Jen), her two brothers, Aidan and Drew, as well as her cows, horses, chickens, and her big dog named Steinbeck. Claire was born with William's Syndrome. Many, many people with William's Syndrome have a heart defect. In Claire's case, she has pulmonary and aortic stenosis. When Claire was three years old, the doctors tried to relieve the pressure in her heart, but the arteries were too narrow, and the surgery never took place. Now that Claire is 15, her arteries have grown enough to relieve the pressure. As Claire explained to health classes at her school, "It's time to go fix the tubes!" In the next two weeks (February 2018), Claire and her parents are headed to St. Louis Children's Hospital. The doctors there have seen many hearts like Claire's. They will do one (or more) balloon catheterizations on her pulmonary arteries, as well as an open-heart surgery to repair the aorta. Although Claire is very nervous, she is excited to make the journey to a healthier heart; she's ready to be done with those "whoozie spells." Her family is optimistic and confident that Claire will make a speedy recovery and be ready to get back to her full and busy life.