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36 pagesVolume 124, No. 78

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S E RV I N G M A N K AT O A N D S O U T H - C E N T R A L M I N N E S O TA

Twins overtake Phillies, Page D1THE VALLEY, PAGE B1

Eight generations gatherfor Schell’s reunion

WEATHER, PAGE B6

A storm or twoMostly cloudy. High around 76.Low tonight around 66.

TOMORROW IN THE FREE PRESS

Old money at workA Le Center company createsfurniture out of worn, shreddedcurrency.

New pet blog needs youThe Free Press has launched yet another

blog, this one on pets. The three newsroom staffers running the

blog encourage your submissions. Tell us aboutyour furbaby (or feathered friend, scaled pal —whatever your companion animal of choice) [email protected], and they’ll edit andpost your submission.

See more at the Pets on Parade blog, acces-sible through mankatofreepress.com.

MMaannkkaattoo,, MMiinnnneessoottaa

Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1-F4

Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2

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Copyright 2010,The Free Press Co.

SPORTS, PAGE D1

Woods one of threeunder par in Open

UPCOMING PAGEFINDER

Submitted photo

Angie and Ryan Heidelberger went through more heartache with their daughter, Hazel, in 13 days than most parents experience in alifetime.

By Robb [email protected]

Normally, they’d beinside a church. Thebaby girl in a prettywhite gown. Mom anddad looking lovingly

down into a baptismal font. Pastorwetting the forehead of thechurch’s newest member.

But that night, as Angie andRyan Heidelberger stood next totheir baby, a baby they couldn’thold because she was hooked up toan oxygen machine, the baptismtook place in a much different kindof sanctuary.

Instead of candles, there are flu-orescent lights. Instead of stainedglass, there are walls of medicalsupplies. And instead of rows offamily and friends, the witnesseshere are swaddled babies — beau-

tiful strangers— in bassinets.

Rev. PaulLauer wastedno time in hur-rying throughhis shortest-ever baptism. Itis shortly aftermidnightSunday, Jan. 3.A rescue heli-copter will be here soon to carryHazel away.

No smiles. No photographs withthe pastor to hang on the fridge.No luncheon in the church base-ment. Because no one came. Noone knew. But soon enough, every-one within a mother’s screamingdistance would know of Hazel, andhow she entered the world with aheart that would only give her 13days.

Hazel was a New Year’sbaby, and seemed healthy.She met her family,learned to nurse, had herdiapers changed. But bythis evening, test resultsshowed signs of trouble.Nurses noticed thatHazel’s heart was racing.Mom and dad noticed shewas growing lethargic.No one could figure outwhy.

A short time later,they’d receive the kind ofnews every new parentfears: Something iswrong with their baby.

They don’t know it yet,but Hazel was born with

hypoplastic left-heart syndrome,which essentially means her heartwas born with only three of itsfour chambers. If found earlyenough, and with world-class help,babies can pull through. But inHazel’s case, only a miracle couldsave her.

For now, all they know is thattheir baby — the one who keptAngie company while Ryan wasaway on active duty, and for whoma Noah’s Ark room was waitingback home on Cornelia Street inNorth Mankato — is in trouble.

That is what led to the late-nightcall to their pastor. They wantHazel baptized in case doctorsnever figure out what’s wrong withher, in case she doesn’t survive.

For 13 days, she’d fight. For 13days, she’d bring people together,strengthen a marriage, inject arenewed sense of purpose into thelives around her.

And for future babies whosehearts come into the world withthe odds against them, Hazelwould create a fierce advocate: amother determined to save otherbabies from the same fate thatstruck Hazel, and save families theheartache she felt.

Part 1 of a 3 part series

The short life ofThe short life of

Hazel HeidelbergerHazel Heidelberger

The short life of

Hazel Heidelberger

ou are my sunshine, my only sunshine,

you make me happy when skies are gray.Y

PRECIOUS LIFE

A baby girl, bornwith a broken heart,

gone too soon

Please see HAZEL, Page A8

Pat Christman

Angie and Ryan Heidelberger had everything in the house ready for the arrival of theirdaughter, Hazel.

By Dan [email protected]

MANKATO — Changes tothe state’s GeneralAssistance Medical Careprogram took effect June 1,and Immanuel St. Joseph’sHospital Chief FinancialOfficer Jim Tarasovitch onlyknows one thing for sure.

The hospital will take inless money, perhaps $2 mil-lion per year.

The program is only pay-ing one-third of what it didin the past, he said.

The overhaul asked hospi-tals to become “CoordinatedCare Delivery Systems,”sort of like mini-HMOs thatdirect all aspects of apatient’s care. ISJ said earli-er this year that it’s notequipped to become such aprovider.

Only four hospitalsagreed to become part ofthat system, and they are alllocated in the metro area.

ISJ is just now submit-ting what Tarasovitch called“sample bills” to the state tofigure out how billing willwork under the new systemfor hospitals not participat-ing in a CCDS.

The poor adults enrolledin the program — about30,000 statewide at anygiven time — will still beable to get emergency careat hospitals like ISJ.

But ISJ may not be ableto bill for services forpatients who are enrolled inanother hospital’s CCDS.

Tarasovitch worries someGAMC enrollees might notcompletely understand theimplications of signing upfor another hospital’s net-work, its CCDS. It mightmean that an elective, ornon-essential, surgery wouldneed to be done elsewhere.

This change has thepotential to disrupt doctor-patient relationships andpresent transportation prob-lems to people for whomgetting to the Twin Cities isdifficult.

The specific population ofGAMC recipients makes thechanges even more challeng-ing. To qualify, a personmust have an income below75 percent of the federalpoverty guideline, less than$677 a month, according to

McClatchy-TribuneNews Service

ABOARD THE DEVEL-OPMENT DRILLER II —The men who spend weeksat a time aboard these deep-water rigs are accustomedto drilling in relative soli-tude out in the waters of theGulf of Mexico.

But that’s not how it isthese days: Smoke billowsand bursts of orange flamesunfurl on the horizon,byproducts of the surfacefight to stop the runawayDeepwater Horizon well,which is spewing hundredsof thousands of gallons ofcrude oil each day into theGulf.

Here, the DevelopmentDriller II and anotherdrilling rig, the DD III,about half a mile away, arethe last hope for finallyplugging the gushing under-water well. Both rigs aredrilling relief wells that,deep under the ocean bot-tom, will aim to tap into thepipe gushing oil, pourcement into it and hopefullystop the oil permanently.

“Whichever one getsthere first,” said WendellGuidry, the drilling superin-tendent on the DD II.Officials have said the wellswould take about two tothree months to completeand have said they hope toplug the gusher in August.

Mickey Fruge, the rig’swell site leader and seniorBP representative on therig, said the well is ahead ofschedule and could be com-pleted sometime in mid-July,barring storms or mechani-cal difficulties.

The men think about theimportance of the task “allthe time, always on ourmind,” said Guidry, who hasworked on rigs for 27 years.The task ahead is the “sameas any other well,” he said.“That’s our main focus, justto the get the well done, toget the flow to stop.”

He added: “I guess there’ssome self-imposed pressureon the guys, wanting to getit done. Some of the guyshere worked with some ofthe guys on the DeepwaterHorizon. When we got onthe scene we told the guyswe’ll treat this like any

Aboardthe Gulf ’slast hopeTwo rigs race todrill relief wells

Page A3Gulf residents seethe as BP’sCEO spends Saturday watchinghis yacht in a race.

Please see DRILL, Page A7

GAMCchangescost ISJmillionsKato hospitalstill learninghow it’s affected

Please see HOSPITAL, Page A4

over

in coupon savingsinside

$100 S U N D AY

Preparing forHazel’s arrival

In the months and weeksleading up to Hazel’s birth,Angie and Ryan prepared.

“I wanted to get all theprojects done around thehouse that I could. I madeRyan clean and organizeeverything in our house. Allof the cupboards, drawers— nothing was leftuntouched. I loved it. I kepttelling him we weren’t goingto have time to do thesethings later,” Angie said.“We went to all the classesthey offered through thehospital. I remember put-ting our car seat in maybe afew weeks earlier than nec-essary, but we were so excit-ed. I couldn’t believe thatsoon I’d have a baby girl inthe car with me. I alwayswondered what it would belike to drive home from thehospital as a family.”

Angie’s mom came downfrom Brainerd several timesduring the summer whileRyan was gone to help pre-pare Hazel’s room.

“I wanted a Noah’s Arktheme so just in case wewere surprised at birth witha boy our color schemewould work,” Angie said.“Friends and family threwme four showers, so I had acloset full of everything youcould need for a baby. I hada dresser full of pinkclothes. I remember lookingat how tiny the newbornonesies were and thinkinghow incredible it was thatthere was this little personinside me that would bewearing them soon. Iwashed all the clothes andblankets in Dreft. I madeRyan put the Pack ‘N Playtogether in the living roomso she could sleep therewhile I was in the kitchen.We had toys placed through-out the house and a cup-board full of bottles, bibs,etc. What we didn’t have wemade a run to Babies R Usfor the beginning ofNovember. The house wasset.”

Angie also read.Thanks to “What to

Expect When You’reExpecting,” she alwaysknew how big Hazel wasand what was developingeach week. Feeling Hazelkick inside of her, she said,was “the most incrediblething. I couldn’t believe howblessed I was — what a mir-acle I had been given.”

Every morning when shestepped into the shower,Angie rubbed her belly andsaid “Good morning Hazel,”and prayed to God to keepher safe and healthy. Forfive months, while Ryantrained at Fort Sill and FortBenning to prepare fordeployment to Iraq, Angieand Hazel were a team.

Ryan rejoined that teamwhen he returned fromactive duty. When it gotcloser to Angie’s due date,Ryan had taken to startingup the family car every fewhours — he wanted to besure that, when the timecame, cold temps wouldn’tstand in the way of gettinghis wife to the hospital.

They succeeded. And at7:50 p.m. Jan. 1, Hazelbecame the first girl born atImmanuel St. Joseph’sHospital for 2010.

“I was great at pushing,”Angie said.

In the hours followingHazel’s birth, Ryan, who

shakes hands with the gripyou’d expect from a soldier,sang to her the same songhe had sung to her beforeshe was born, back when hehad to kneel down and singto Angie’s belly.

“You are my sunshine, myonly sunshine,” he sang,“you make me happy whenskies are gray.”

They gazed at their littlegirl, who was now lookingaround the room, and look-ing at her parents. This wasthe little girl they’d seen ona grainy television screenduring an ultrasound proce-dure, the same procedurethat, for many with Hazel’scondition, catches thedefect and alerts doctors.But in these first few hours,there is no talk of defects orheart trouble. There weren’teven photographs taken,says Angie: “We were toobusy watching her.”

Watching her, holding herhand, and wondering. Theywondered what it will belike when they finally get tobring Hazel home, what itwill be like to take her fish-ing, to push her strollerdown Cornelia Street andthrough Spring Lake Park.They’d take her to movies,strap a bib on her and feedher peas and squash whileshe’s sitting in a highchairin the kitchen. They’d walkher to Monroe Elementaryon her first day of school,exult when she finally rodea bike on her own, got herfirst T-ball hit or performedat her first dance or clarinetrecital. They’d get herthrough middle school, savethe photos from every birth-day, arrange them all in acollage to show the worldshe’d made it through highschool. And eventually,they’d watch her get mar-ried and go on to have herown children.

Hazel. A mommy herselfsomeday. That was the plan.

After spending those firstprecious moments withHazel, Angie and Ryancalled their parents to sharethe good news.

Ryan’s parents hadalready been trolling garagesales for baby toys. Now,finally, they’d be able to usethem.

Peggy Goemer, Angie’smom, had long ago notifiedher employer that, when thebaby comes, she’s going.Her plan was to spend aweek helping her daughter,a week she’d been lookingforward to for months, andhad thought about for years.Nothing was more impor-tant than being with Angel.That’s what she calls her:

Angel. At work, she’sAngela. With friends, she’sAngie. To mom, she’s Angel.

On New Year’s Day,Goemer wished for luck forAngel — she’d hoped thatAngie could have a naturalchild birth instead of aCaesarean. She got herwish.

Oxygen levels fallAt about 6:30 a.m. on

Saturday, Jan. 2, a nursetold Angie that, while Hazelspent the night in the nurs-ery, her skin started to turnblue. Hazel’s oxygen levelswere at 90 percent, still nothigh enough to cause thedoctor to worry. But thenurse recommended skip-ping the morning feedingand putting Hazel on oxy-gen anyway.

A few hours later, Angie’sfather arrived and was thefirst one other than momand dad to hold Hazel. Heinsisted a family photo.

“That’s the hardest one tolook at,” Angie would saymonths later, “because wehad no clue. We had every-thing.”

Eventually, more guestsarrive. A grandmother, anaunt, a boss, some friendsfrom church. During themiddle of the day, Angienursed Hazel.

Recalling it months later,Angie says she’d like to havethat day over. Instead ofbeing peaceful, it was stress-ful. Instead of taking in themoment, Angie says shemore remembers entertain-ing guests and hagglingwith lactation nurses overtechnique.

Later that evening, guestsfiltered out. By evening, theHeidelbergers — the threeof them — were aloneagain.

The peace didn’t lastlong: At 7:30 p.m., theHeidelbergers got their firstsign that something wasvery wrong.

After getting her diaperchanged, Hazel began towail. To calm her, Angienursed Hazel while a nursetook Hazel’s vitals.

Then she took themagain. And after getting thesame results, she took Hazelfrom Angie and whisked heraway, saying they needed torun some tests.

The break gave Angie achance to take a bath, butRyan went with Hazel. Helistened to doctors andnurses talk about oxygenlevels. He saw the tangle oftubes running frommachines to his baby girland heard concern in theirvoices. He knew something

wasn’t right.He called his grandpar-

ents. “How’s it goin, Ryan?”his grandmother said.

Ryan began to cry.Then he called his moth-

er, who was in a fish houseon a frozen Lake of theWoods.

“I could hear it in hisvoice that something waswrong,” Linda Heidelbergersays, tearfully recalling theday. “That was horrible ...That was really horrible.You feel helpless. You hurtfor your kid ... Ryan said hewas scared. I told him I wasgoing to talk to his dad andnot to worry. And thenRyan really couldn’t talkanymore.”

Angie overheard Ryan’semotional phone calls to hisfamily and panicked. Shegot out of the tub and even-tually the Heidelbergersworried together.

Doctors drew blood andmonitored oxygen levels.The Heidelbergers waited.

To pass time, they pacedthe halls, and couldn’t helpbut notice the paintings andquilts hung in frames on thewalls. Beneath each frame

were little plaques that read,“In memory of ...”

Finally, a doctor who hadbeen monitoring Hazel’sprogress, examined Hazelagain. She found Hazelmore lethargic than everand made an ominous deci-sion: not knowing what waswrong with Hazel, the doc-tor decided to get her to afacility with more experi-ence and expertise dealingwith acute neonatal cases.Hazel was to be flown toRochester immediately.

Across town, at theMankato Regional Airport,a Mayo One pilot wasroused from his sleep.Within minutes, he wasbehind the cyclic and theblades of his chopper werespinning. He lifted off thetarmac and flew above thetreetops to ISJ’s roof.

A child of GodBefore Hazel can leave,

however, Ryan had to makeone more call. To Angie’ssurprise, Ryan had sum-moned the pastor.

“My first thought was,‘Wait, we’re going to do thislater. I’ve reserved thechurch and printed theinvites,” Angie said.

Rev. Paul Lauer’s phonerang at 11:45 p.m. By 11:50p.m., he was on ISJ’s mater-nity floor. Angie and Ryanquickly got him up to speed,telling him about Hazel, hercondition, and that a heli-copter was coming to pickher up. Angie tells him she’sworried about it not beingthe baptism she envisioned.Lauer assures her a secondbaptism could be done laterat the church. Angie agrees.

Lauer worked quickly.In an ante room just off

the nursery — a room usedby mothers who need priva-cy to nurse, or for hospitalstaff to rock colicky babies— the new family, clingingto each other on theprecipice of the fight oftheir lives, stands silentlyduring the sacrament.

“It wasn’t until he startedsaying the words that I

looked at Hazel and realizedhow serious this was,”Angie said. “She was layingthere, her heart pounding sohard, receiving the sacra-ment. It scared me — thiswas something done only inextreme circumstances. YetI felt great peace that shewas a child of God forever.No matter what happened.”

A few minutes later,Hazel’s world was thrustinto turmoil as doctors andnurses, in a flurry of activi-ty, stabilized her for herfirst helicopter ride.

Hazel’s parents kissed hergoodbye and surrenderedher to a team of doctors andnurses. The team wheeledHazel’s gurney down thehall, past the rooms ofhealthy babies and happymoms and dads, to an eleva-tor to the rooftop helipad.

At the top floor, glassdoors parted and revealed asteel grate-like bridgeway toa cement-topped landingpad, where the pilot waited.They quickly wheeledHazel’s gurney out into thecold, black night and loadedit aboard. Within a minuteshe’s ready for take off.

Inside her room, Angieheard the chopper lifting offthe roof. Hazel’s going toMayo, she told herself. Theyhave the best doctors in theworld there. Surely, if any-one could save her, Mayocould. Months later, recall-ing that day, she said, “Itnever occurred to me it’d besomething like this.”

The next 11 days will bea whirlwind. Hazel willcheat death. Rally. Bringpeople to tears. And beforeher short life was over, herbody would endure a jour-ney few could ever imagine.

NNeexxtt:: In chapter 2 of Hazel’sstory, a family makes asolemn trip to Rochester,then stands vigil round theclock, never leaving Hazelalone. She’s introduced tothe ECMO machine, andspends an exquisite andalert 45 minutes alone withmom and dad.

Continued from Page A1

HAZEL: Wonderment turns into a whirlwind

Submitted photo

Hazel Heidelberger was born with hypoplastic left-heart syndrome, an ailment where the heart’s fourthchamber is severely underdeveloped.

A8 The Free Press / Sunday, June 20, 2010

June 22 & 29 • July 6 & 13This activity is made possible by a grant provided by the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council fromgeneral funds approved by the Minnesota State Legislature and in part, by the Minnesota arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the vote of the peopleof Minnesota on November 4, 2008. A capital grant for $980 was received from the Prairie LakesRegional Arts Council with funds from the McKnight Foundation. Support also from Schwickert's,All-American Foods, Commissioner Tom McLaughlin and many individuals donations.

All concerts are free and open to the public. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and enjoy music in a picturesque setting. A Mankato tradition since 1923. Variety of concert band music for all ages. Children's parade weekly with bubbles and other favors.

CLIP AND SAVE

MANKATO AREA COMMUNITY BAND2010 SCHEDULE

Sibley Park ~ Tuesdays 7:30 p.m.(Near the petting zoo)


M O N D AY


75¢


McDowell wins U.S. Open, Page D1NATION & WORLD, PAGE A3

Insurgents appear to targetIraq’s financial institutions

WEATHER, PAGE B4

HumidHigh around 80; thunderstorm likely.Low overnight in the upper 60s.


Go! up NorthTim Krohn writes about his cabinup North for our Go! series.


Track police activity on the webYou can now track police calls in Blue Earth

and Brown counties and for the city of Mankatoas well as Department of Natural Resource offi-cer reports for all of southern Minnesota onmankatofreepress.com

As part of our growing base of communitycolumnists, Sgt. Jacalyn Sticha of theMinnesota State Patrol now also writes a col-umn for mankatofreepress.com on various safe-ty issues.


Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C1-C2

Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D4

Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2

Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C6

Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4-C6

Nation-World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3

Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B2

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D3

TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B3

THE VALLEY, PAGE B1

Study: Broadbanddisparity continues

UPCOMING PAGEFINDER

FIGHT LIFE


The ride to the MayoClinic can be a cruelone, especially if you’vegot time to think.

If your husband hashad a heart attack, if your wife hasbeen in a car accident, or if yourbaby is on death’s door — makingthat two-hour drive from Mankatoto Mayo gives you just enough timeto think yourself crazy, and notenough time to calm yourself down.

When it was their turn to makethat drive, Angie and RyanHeidelberger were shell-shocked.

A day earlier they had every-thing: a beautiful 8-pound-9-ouncebaby girl, dreams of a future filledwith coloring books and Play-Doh,and the materialization of a heaven-ly idea that grew more real asAngie’s belly grew more round.

Today, though, as quickly as that

dream became reali-ty, it had turned intoa nightmare. Hazel’shealth began todeteriorate just 24hours into her life.And now, after ahasty baptism in thenursery of ImmanuelSt. Joseph’sHospital, the familylearned it needed tohead to Rochester ifHazel was going tohave any shot at life.

Hazel’s trip was a quick one. Inless time than it takes to watch asitcom or mow the lawn, a Mayochopper zipped her 85 miles to theroof of one of the world’s greatesthospitals. She was met by a team ofdoctors and nurses ready to fix her.When they rolled her gurneythrough the hospital doors, Hazel— who had only been able to givesubtle clues that she was born with

hypoplastic left-heartsyndrome — immedi-ately became, in thewords of one of hernurses, “the sickestpatient” at the St.Marys Hospital inRochester.

Now, her familymust make the trip.

The Heidelbergers’car, rumbling east-ward down Highway14, was a quiet one,and Angie felt help-less. The child whohad grown andsquirmed and kickedin her womb for ninemonths was gone, in

the hands of strangers. True, Hazelwas going to Mayo, one of theworld’s finest hospitals. But shealso knew babies don’t get flownthere in the middle of the nightunless the circumstances are dire.

To calm her nerves, Angieplayed a Josh Groban Christmasalbum she hadn’t gotten a chanceto play in the days leading up toDec. 25. With Ryan driving, shegazed out at the Minnesota prairieand listened to Groban’s versions of“Silent Night,” “What Child isThis,” and “Ave Maria,” andthought about Hazel.

In the back seat, buckled firmly,sat Hazel’s empty car seat. Next to itsat Peggy Goemer, Angie’s mother.

Goemer had left the Brainerdarea the moment she’d heard. She’dplanned all along to come toMankato when the baby was born.Spending the first week in Januarywith Angie has been on her calen-dar for months. But she neverdreamed the drive to Mankatowould feel like this.

She’d spent much of the drive toMankato in tears. At one point, asshe approached Hutchinson,

Submitted photos

Angie and Ryan Heidelberger made sure someone was with their daughter the entire time she was in St. Marys Hospital.

Dreams turn fromreality to a nightmare




The short life of

Hazel Heidelberger

Hazel Heidelberger spent much of her time in St. Marys Hospital hooked up to machinesand tubes.

The ofher

allowed myself to hope for a miracle.I



MANKATO — LastDecember,Mankatoan JerryOman explored cavesand went rafting inNew Zealand, a coun-try known for adven-ture that has socialclubs to encouragegroup outings.

Oman, 37, couldn’tbring the caves to Mankato,but he can bring the socialattitude toward experienc-ing new things.

He recently started theMankato Area AdventureClub to collect like-mindedfolks who want to spendtheir time trying novelactivities. Ten people cameto a June 11 meeting, andthey varied in age from col-lege students to peopleapproaching retirement.

The first meetup, like allthe events, was scheduledonline through a website,www.meetup.com/manka-toadventures. They also

have a Facebookgroup. In total, 50people have indicat-ed their interest inthe group.

Their activitieswon’t just be adren-aline-pumpingstunts like jumpingout of airplanes(though they’replanning a July10th skydivingevent). Oman sayssomething like a

wine stomp might be a funidea, and just biking on atrail works, too.

The club is free to joinbut some of the activitiesare expensive, and Omanwants to spread those out.

Ideas include hot air bal-loon rides, hiking, dogsled-ding, climbing, water skiing,cross-country or downhill

Club has taste

for adventureGroup forms toenhance novelexperiences

Jerry Omanstarted theMankato club.

Please see CLUB, Page A5

The Associated Press

Joan Woolley of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Oklahoma pulls a trayof lasagna from a portable oven as she prepares meals for the peopleof Galveston, Texas, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in 2008. Cookingis the disaster specialty of the Southern Baptists.

The Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. — Forevery hurricane, earthquakeor flood, there is help: food,bottled water, crews of vol-unteers nailing shingles tobrand new roofs.

What even grateful recipi-ents of that aid may notrealize is that much of itcomes from an unlikelyhodgepodge of religiousgroups who put aside theirdoctrinal differences andcoordinate their efforts assoon as the wind startsblowing.

Southern Baptists cookmeals from Texas to

Massachusetts. Seventh-dayAdventists dispense aidfrom makeshift warehousesthat can be running withineight hours. Mennoniteshaul away debris, Buddhistsprovide financial aid andchaplains with the BillyGraham Rapid ResponseTeam counsel the trauma-tized and grieving.

This “juice and cookiesfellowship,” as one organiz-er calls it, is mostly invisibleto the public, but it providesinterfaith infrastructure fordisaster response aroundthe country that state andfederal officials couldscarcely live without.

Faith groups developdisaster aid specialties

a helicopter flew overhead.Having already talked toAngie, and knowing thatHazel’s condition requiredan urgent helicopter flightto Mayo, she pulled over ina Wal-Mart parking lot toweep and collect herself.

“There was nobody onthe road. I didn’t feel safeand I just needed to feelsafe for a little bit,” Goemersaid. “This is every mother’sworst fear, to lose yourbaby. And I didn’t knowhow complicated this wasgoing to be.”

Ryan’s parents had hit theroad as well.

“We were all scared todeath, but we were reallyconfident she was in thebest of hands,” LindaHeidelberger said. “She wasthe biggest baby in the nurs-ery, she was healthy, she’sgoing to be OK. But, ofcourse, we knew nothingabout this syndrome.”

Not many people do.One in 100 babies, or

about 40,000 annually in theU.S., are born with somekind of congenital heartdefect, according to theChildren’s HeartFoundation. Hazel’s form isthe rarest. Of all the chil-dren born with heartdefects, between 4-8 percentof them will have HLHS.

The foundation estimatesthat nearly twice as manychildren die each year fromcongenital heart defectsthan from all forms of child-hood cancer combined, yetfunding for cancer researchoutstrips congenital heartdefect funding nearly 5 to 1.

The ride beginsMayo Clinic doctors were

waiting for Angie and Ryanto arrive, and by the timethe family got there, they’dpieced together Hazel’smedical puzzle.

They work on these kindsof cases all the time, theytold the family. With a littleluck, Hazel will be all right.They gave her an 80 percentchance, and many kids whocome here with HLHS gohome. There was no reasonto think Hazel wouldn’t bejust as lucky.

For a kid who leftMankato with no one know-ing why she was turningblue, this was a much-need-ed shot of good news forher and her parents.

“I went to bed feelingpretty confident,” Angiesaid.

Then came Monday, aday Angie called “over-whelming.”

They spoke with the sur-geon, people conductingmedical research, socialworkers, someone trying toline up housing for the fami-ly, hospital staff who wantedto show the family on whichfloor they’d be staying.

Back in the neonatalintensive care unit, Hazelwas having one of thebusiest days of her life asdoctors conducted a batteryof tests.

Later that evening, theHeidelbergers got a gift:Although Hazel was sleepy,her health was holding upamazingly well, and theywere allowed to hold theirbaby for the first time sincethey left Mankato.

They held her for nearlytwo hours, confident thedoctors here would save her,that they’d fit her into that80 percent of HLHS kidswho leave the hospital alive.

“She snuggled into mychest and slept rightthrough her mother’s sobs.Who would have thought akiss or touch could be sospecial?” Angie wrote onher Caring Bridge site thatday. “They closed off thearea for us three to enjoytime together. All of hervitals stayed strong andbecause she was doing bet-ter than they expected,Ryan got to hold her too.Two hours later it was timefor her to be put back.Those two hours were the

best moments of my life. Nomatter what happens tomor-row I will always rememberher touch, smell, and seeingher and Ryan together.”

Surgery No. 1On Tuesday morning,

Hazel was scheduled forsurgery.

She went in at 7 a.m.,and didn’t come out againuntil early afternoon. Whenthey finally got to see her,she was hooked up to amachine that would remainher companion for the restof her stay at Mayo, theECMO machine.

ECMO stands for extra-corporeal membrane oxy-genation, and the machineserves as a heart and lungbypass for patients whosehearts cannot function ontheir own. Essentially,because Hazel’s heart hadonly three chambers, it hadto work extra hard to pushblood to her lungs where itcould pick up oxygen andcarry it around to the rest ofher body.

The Heidelbergers metwith the surgeons who’dopened up their daughter’schest, and he had somegood news: Hazel’s heartdidn’t appear to be as badas they’d thought. On theother hand, they’d found shehad pulmonary hyperten-sion. She’d be hooked up toECMO, they told them, andnow they just had to wait.

When the Heidelbergerswent to see Hazel after sur-gery, they were horrified.She looked swollen andbruised.

“I said, ‘She looks dead!’”Angie said.

By the next morning,Hazel looked much better.But because she was onECMO — a bargain thatcomes with connections tovarious tubes and wires —Angie and Ryan couldn’thold her.

But they stayed with her.And when they couldn’t,others did.

Peggy Goemer was oneof the people who madesure Hazel never spent aminute of her life without afamily member present.

Goemer worked what shecalled the late shift.

“That was when I’d talkto her,” she said.

She’d tell Hazel about hermom and dad, and howsorry she was that she was-n’t there for the birth. Shesang to her.

“Angie’s dad had broughta book about camping andfishing and so I’d read thatbook to her and tell her thather daddy would teach herhow to fish, because that’swhat he wanted to do.Angie liked to fish, too.”

“I talked to her about theanimals on her bed,”Goemer said, strugglingthrough tears as she recalledthose nights, “and the stuffyou talk about when youhave a sick baby ... Thatwas my time with Hazel ...The only time I had ... I’djust look at her little faceand talk to her.”

The setting, whilemorose, allowed family tobond.

“We all camped out inthis room,” LindaHeidelberger said. “We allhad computers, we were allwaiting for Angie to updateCaring Bridge because sheexplained things so well.That kind of kept us allgoing and we all formed dif-ferent relationships witheach other. We didn’t know

Angie’s dad that well, andwe bonded with him. Wesaw each other in a differentlight.”

Linda Heidelberger saidthey also learned a littlemore about Angie.

“We knew we were lucky,but now we really knowwe’re lucky,” she said. “Wehad no idea that she wassuch a phenomenal writer,and so comfortable with herreligion.

“I don’t know if shethinks our relationship haschanged. ... But this reallytested our relationship and Ithink we came through withflying colors. She’s sostrong, and such a goodmom.”

Wednesday and Thursdaywere uneventful. Then onFriday, she endured surgeryNo. 2. This one was done tofix a shunt that had beeninserted in one of her heartvalves, and it went well.

Oxygen levels went upand they took her off theECMO machine to see howher heart would perform.The results were encourag-ing. But, to give her hearttime to rest, they put herback on the machine duringthe weekend.

Bad luck hit her again,however, on Sunday.

Everything thatcould go wrong

As if things weren’talready perilous enough,Hazel’s kidneys began tofail. Angie, writing on theCaring Bridge site, con-fessed that all the littlehitches holding up Hazel’sprogress had her discour-aged and afraid.

On Monday, those fearsappeared justified as Hazel’sfeet and hands started turn-ing blue.

By Tuesday, theyswitched blood thinners andtried to take her off ECMO.But her blood pressure wentup, oxygen levels wentdown and the amount ofblood that had been leakingaround her heart hadincreased. Worse yet, doc-tors determined Hazelwasn’t strong enough toendure another surgery tofix it, and her feet andhands were getting bluer.

“I was prepared for her todie that day,” Ryan said.

Angels in uniformsHazel affected the nurses

who worked on her case,too.

Wes Nigon spent aboutfive days with Hazel. Hesaid it was difficult to seeHazel as just anotherpatient.

“With cases like this, youget to know the family,” hesaid. “I can’t speak foreverybody, but in my opin-ion, you get emotionallyattached.”

Nigon said working inthe neonatal intensive careunit puts him in a uniqueposition to see people fromall walks of life. He’s caredfor kids from broken homesand kids from familieswhose parents are fighting.He also sees families likethe Heidelbergers: tightlyknit, close, supportive.

“Realistically our first jobis to take care of thepatient,” he said. “Then incases like Hazel’s, the familybecomes something we haveto take care of and supportas well. That’s what a lot ofus really enjoy. A lot of ushave kids of our own, andthere can be somewhat of aconnection.”

Nigon, father of two girls,said it’s hard to not think ofthem when caring forpatients.

“A lot of times, when Isee kids there, I think of myown kids,” he said. “I don’tput myself in the familymember’s shoes, but ... Thisis something that can hap-pen to anybody.”

Denise Engel was theECMO specialist who spentmore time with Hazel thanjust about anyone. Becauseof that, she said, she wasable to catch glimpses ofHazel’s personality.

“We pick up on the littlethings,” she said. “The dif-ferent facial expressions,raising eyebrows, how ener-getic they are, even withmedicine. She’d make somefacial expressions. I remem-ber the ‘OK, what are yougonna do to me,’ look. ...You wish you knew whatthey were thinking.”

Hoping for a miracleWednesday was a critical

day for Hazel. After severaldays of getting bad news,her condition stabilizedsomewhat. Doctors wereactually surprised that shehadn’t gotten worse.

Angie and Ryan got aspark of hope they’d needed.

“That’s when I got mysecond wind of confidence,”Ryan said. “I allowed myselfto hope for a miracle.”

And in a way, they gotone.

That night, in a surprisetwist, Hazel had what mayhave been her best night.

No, they couldn’t take heroff the ECMO machine, butfor 45 minutes Angie andHazel shared the kind oftime Angie dreamed aboutbefore Hazel was born.

Hazel’s room was full ofballoons and flowers andstickers on the windows —the family’s attempts totransform the sterility of ahospital room into some-thing personal. And Hazeltook it all in. Her eyes werewide, she was alert.

Angie made the most ofit. She had one of the fewconversations she’d everhave with her daughter thatnight. She’d take her swim-ming, she told Hazel. Shetold her of her plans to takeher fishing up north and onlong walks in lower NorthMankato. She told Hazelhow she couldn’t wait torock her to sleep and aboutthe long list of people whocouldn’t wait to meet her.

She also told Hazel this:that it was OK to let go, andthat tomorrow, no matterwhat, the tubes snaking inand around her body werecoming out.

Angie wept. Nursesbrought her tissues. Andafter 45 minutes of eyesbeing open to the world,Hazel closed them againand went to sleep.

The next morning, at6:30, doctors gave Hazel her

last shot. She needed tocome off the ECMOmachine. Babies whosehearts and lungs can’t func-tion on their own at thispoint have little chance tosurvive, and Hazel hadabout used up her chances.

A team of experts wasready to take her off themachine and see how herheart fared.

Angie leaned over and,with a kiss, whispered toHazel, “Fight hard.”

Doctors wheeled Hazelaway, and the Heidelbergerswaited for what seemed likeforever. Angie went to aroom dubbed “the pumpingroom” — a room for nurs-ing mothers — and sobbed.Her insides twisted. She feltsick with anxiety.

Finally the surgeonemerged.

Hazel, he said, had beenoff the ECMO machine for45 minutes, and her heartwas working on its own forthe first time.

“She’s on the fence,” hetold the Heidelbergers. “Itcould go either way. We’llknow for sure in an hour,but right now it’s betweenher and God.”

The Heidelbergers start-ed to pray.

NNeexxtt:: In chapter 3, Hazel’sfate is decided, and hermother launches a new non-profit group to raise aware-ness for, and help familiesstricken with, heart defects.


Submitted photo

Hazel Heidelberger was born with hypoplastic left-heart syndrome, a condition where only three of herheart’s four chambers were developed.

HAZEL: Families bond, strengthening relationship

A6 The Free Press / Monday, June 21, 2010

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NATION & WORLD, PAGE A3

Guilty plea in Times Square case

UPCOMING PAGEFINDER


When the surgeon told Angie and RyanHeidelberger that this was their daugh-ter’s last chance, that they’d know with-in an hour whether she’d live or die,the couple prayed.

It’d been 13 days since Hazel was born, a NewYear’s baby who arrived with a broken heart. She’dbeen through two surgeries, a battle with blood thin-

ners, had been hooked upto tubes and machines,and tended to by doctorsand nurses in a neonatalintensive care unit formost of her short life.

To a devout Christianfamily, this seemed theonly proper response.Prayer.

“A miracle could hap-pen, the leakage aroundher heart could seal bysome miracle, you knowthat’s what they’re think-ing,” said Peggy Goemer,Angie’s mother, whoalong with other membersof the extended familyhad been keeping vigil fordays down the hall from Hazel’s room.

The congregation of Our Savior’s Lutheran Churchhad been praying for Hazel. Word of her conditionhad hit Facebook. People nervously waited for thenext update to Hazel’s Caring Bridge website.

But about five minutes into Angie and Ryan’sprayer, led by pastor Paul Lauer, a nurse came tothem. “Things are getting worse,” she told them. “Youneed to come now.”

They knew it was over.From down the hall, family members saw the omi-

nous sign they’d been warned about: a nurse moved arocking chair into Hazel’s room. That meant the warwas over, the little girl lost, and now mom and dadwould rock Hazel comfortably as her heart struck itsfinal beats.

Angie and Ryan sang to her, “You are my sunshine,my only sunshine,” just as they’d done to her whenshe was still in the womb, and as they’d done the dayshe was born.

Lauer entered, and the three of them prayed forHazel.

Angie tucked a heart-beating teddy bear next toHazel. She wanted Hazel to feel the heartbeat, feelpeace. “I wanted her to think she was still inside melistening to her mother’s heartbeat — warm andloved,” Angie said.

Finally, nurse Denise Engel, who had been watchingHazel’s vitals closely and who had spent more timewith Hazel than just about anyone, said: “Her heartbeat has stopped. She’s gone.”

Submitted photos

In the seconds following Hazel Heidelberger’s death, Mom and Dad share an embrace.

PRAYER VIGIL




The short life of

Hazel Heidelberger

Finally, peace forbaby Hazel


ll the strength I was trying to

have for her, I just let it all go.A

This tree was planted in Spring Lake Park in North Mankato thisspring in memory of Hazel.

By Mark Fischenichmf [email protected]

NORTH MANKATO —The final night of NorthMankato’s Fun Days celebra-tion won’t be capped by thetraditional fireworks thisyear — probably.

The decision by the citycouncil, facing falling stateaid and resulting budgetcuts, to withhold $15,000 infunding for the display cameas a surprise to NorthMankato residents and tosome members of the coun-

cil.“If the decision is made, I

think the council could benotified,” said a chagrinedCouncilman Bill Schindle atMonday night’s meeting.

News of the decision toforego the fireworks, sched-uled for Sunday, July 11,was announced by Mankatoradio stations Mondaymorning, prompting criticalcalls to council membersand city hall. Schindle saidhe assumed the anonymous


MANKATO — Surveyingthe senseless graffiti on theexpansion he had just builtfor Hosanna LutheranChurch, Max DeMars saidthe person or people respon-sible didn’t get the reactionthey were probably hopingfor Sunday morning.

Much of the paint on thewindows was washed offbefore the first service. Thenasty message painted inwhite on the asphalt drive-way in front of the churchwas easily blacked out. Thepaint on the Kasota stonewill be more difficult toremove, but some fine sand-paper and a little elbow

grease will get the job done.“There are no problems,

just solutions,” DeMars, amember of the church, saidMonday morning. “Thisplace is strong. I thinkeveryone can see throughthis.”

That’s the message AndyRitchie, associate pastor,wanted his congregation toget Sunday morning. Hewas surprised to find theanarchist symbols and othermessages painted on thechurch’s new building,which was dedicated just aweek ago. He wasn’t sur-prised to find congregationmembers already cleaningup the mess before the first

Church shrugs offgraffiti attackMost damage quickly removed

Please see GRAFFITI, Page A6

By Tanner [email protected]

MANKATO — Sheri Allen has been nostranger to controversy during her firstyear in office.

But the superintendent now beginningher second year at the helm of MankatoArea Public Schools said the scrutiny hasonly made her a stronger leader.

“You know what,” Allen said, “that’sfeedback.

Ka-boom losesto ka-chingFun Days fireworksoff for lack of $15,000

Please see FIREWORKS, Page A6

School Board givesAllen high grades

Sheri Allen hascompleted oneyear assuperintendent.

Please see ALLEN, Page A2


“All the strength I wastrying to have for her, I justlet it all go,” Angie said.

She handed Hazel toEngel. And while Engeltended to Hazel, Angie andRyan embraced and wept.

When they were able,Angie and Ryan dressed herin a new outfit. They heldher. The Heidelberger fami-ly spent its last momentsalone together. And whenthey were done, they saidgoodbye and told their par-ents they could come in.

“It’s hard to watch yourdaughter lose her daughter,”said Goemer, who was ableto hold Hazel’s body aftershe died. “I don’t know if Icould mentally handle it theway Angie did. She was justso strong.”

Ryan’s mom, LindaHeidelberger, also got herchance to hold Hazel.

They entered the room,and Angie handed Hazel toher.

“I’d never gotten to holdher,” Linda said. “I wasthrilled to death and hon-ored that Angie and Ryanlet us do that. When Angiehanded her to me ... Thatmeant a lot. I told her Iloved her over and overagain, and I just mostlycried. I walked her over tothe window ... It was reallytough.”

Engel had a unique viewof it all. She’d gotten toknow Angie and Ryan quitewell, as she does many ofthe young patients whoneed the ECMO machine —a heart and lung bypass forchildren with strugglinghearts.

She takes each case per-sonally, she said. This one,however, was different.

When Linda Heidelbergerwas done holding Hazel, shehanded her to Engel. Lindatold Engel that Angie wouldbe back and to not leaveHazel alone. So Engel didjust that.

She started whispering toHazel.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Engelsaid. “Such a pretty girl ...So peaceful now.”

For an hour, Engel justsat in the rocking chair,holding Hazel, whisperingto her, until the family wasgone.

“I couldn’t have left, espe-cially after I knew the fami-ly didn’t want her left alone.I felt I owed her that muchto stay and do that,” Engelsaid. “That day was proba-bly one of the hardest daysI’ve ever had in my nursingcareer.”

DespairThe days, weeks and

months that followed wereagonizing, including Hazel’sfuneral.

The Heidelbergers fol-lowed the pastor down theaisle, and two pallbearerscarried Hazel’s tiny casket— about the size of a toolbox — to the front of thechurch.

Lauer, speaking to thecongregation, but speaking

more directly to theHeidelbergers, said: “Suchgreat love you showed Hisprecious Hazel. Never oncedid she leave your thoughts,never once did you stoppraying for her. You pouredyour whole love into her,and through you, she knewthe love and faithfulness ofour heavenly Father.”

Lauer’s words were acomfort to Angie and Ryan.Their faith is everything.

“The Heidelbergers wereactually in church on the17th (four days after Hazeldied),” Lauer said.“Unbelievable.”

Even so, no matter whatanyone says, she was stillgone, and nothing can bringher back. That feeling sticksin them both. And forAngie, inside whom Hazelkicked and squirmed andgrew for nine months, therewas nothing but despair.

At home, where theirfront window looks out toCornelia Street in NorthMankato — a street freshlypaved and perfect for par-ents with strollers or young-sters on Rollerblades — shekept the blinds closed tight-ly. She couldn’t bear to seereminders of a failed dreamshe was so close to realiz-ing.

She grew bitter, even get-ting angry at times. Thefuture she planned on wasgone, yet she saw othersaround her living it.

Goemer said she spokewith Angie on the phone amonth or so after Hazeldied, and Angie had toldher about how she’d spokenwith her neighbors, whohave a healthy baby.

“She said, ‘Why do I haveto live next to people whohave babies?’” Goemer said.“And in the next breath shesaid, ‘But these are the bestfriends in the world andthey’ve helped us with somuch.’

“It’s been hard. She won’ttalk on the phone about it,”Goemer said. “And youcan’t go by what she says,sometimes. You really don’tknow until you hold her. SoI’d held her and let her go to

sleep in my arms. She saidto me, ‘Mom, why don’t Ihave a baby?’”

Angie has avoided goingplaces for fear of seeing peo-ple with children. She andRyan have had trouble evenpreparing meals for eachother — grief had con-sumed their energy andbasic tasks seemed monu-mental.

HopeSince Hazel’s death,

Angie has become a self-taught expert on hypoplas-tic left-heart syndrome.Among the reading she didin the weeks followingHazel’s death was a blogwritten by another momwho had lost a child to aheart defect.

That mom had started alocal chapter of a nationalorganization called It’s MyHeart. From the blog, sheclicked over to the nationalwebsite. And after reading alittle bit, she felt somethingstir inside her.

“I had felt in the days fol-lowing Hazel’s death thatsomething big was coming,”she said. “I wasn’t surewhat, but I felt like God wasgoing to do something toshow me how her 13 dayswas going to continue toimpact the world.”

She spoke with the execu-tive director. Would it bepossible, she asked, to starta Minnesota chapter?

“I felt that starting thischapter was my calling,” shesaid. “At first I was afraidthat people wouldn’t be sup-portive and that the wholething would go nowhere.But when 1 in 100 childrenare born with a congenitalheart defect, I knew therewas a need out there. I justneeded to find those people

and work on building thecommunity support.”

She also got some advicefrom that first mom shespoke with who lost a childto a heart defect: “All thetime I put into this,” themom told her, “is the time Iwould have spent with (herson) Noah.”

It started slow.She got a website going

and pulled together a boardof directors made up ofanother mom affected byheart defects, and a cowork-er and dear friend. And thisweek, they officially launchthe group with a benefit toraise money to help offsettheir medical bills.

In familiar words, Angiesays she’ll consider it a suc-cess if her work can helpjust one other family.

They’ve planned twoawareness walks that willhelp get their name out: onein Alexandria and one nextspring at Sibley Park. Shehopes both become annualevents.

They also started theComfort Bag programwhere they distribute bagswith water, gas cards,books, stuffed animals andbrochures on It’s My Heartand congenital heart defectsto children and families atChildren’s Hospital,University of Minnesota andSt. Marys in Rochester.

Angie plans to contactlocal colleges about speak-ing to students about heartdefects and ways to getinvolved with It’s My Heart.

“We really want to focuson raising awareness,” shesaid. “There is very littlefunding that goes to congen-ital heart defect researcheven though twice as manychildren die from them thanall forms of childhood can-

cer combined. Once peoplestart recognizing there is aproblem, we can fundresearch to figure out whatcauses CHD, and bettertreatment methods. ForHazel’s condition, only inthe last 20 years have theydeveloped the series of sur-geries that give children achance of survival.”

RealityIt’d be great at this point

to say Angie and RyanHeidelberger are on theirway to normal. It’d be greatto say they’re getting overit. That it gets easier.

“It’s not something thatgets easier,” Ryan said. “Itjust gets a little more tolera-ble.”

Starting up It’s My Hearthas helped.

Angie says helping othershas helped her channel hergrief into something posi-tive and constructive.

“I feel like I am making adifference in this world, andit is very fulfilling,” shesaid.

But the reality is that thiskind of story doesn’t have ahappy ending.

Angie and Ryan stillthink about Hazel every day.Every hour. Some days,even now, are unbearable.

Angie’s mother witnessedsome of her daughter’sworst moments.

“‘God has a plan for. Youhave to be prepared,’ I toldher. I said, ‘Look at whatyou’ve accomplished withHazel’s life, look at thechanges in people’s lives.Look at this organizationyou’re starting. You don’thave any idea the livesyou’re going to impact.’ Shesaid, ‘I know ... Oh mom.’”And then she wept.

One of the ways Angiehas dealt with her grief isby writing. She publishes ablog in which she has chron-icled her grief and thelaunching of It’s My Heart.

Among the topics she’saddressed is the difficultyshe’s had moving on and indealing with people who, inher estimation, haven’t beenas understanding as she’dhoped.

“One of the hardestthings is when I hear peopletalking about how quicklytheir children are growingup and how they can’tbelieve it’s time for anotherbirthday already,” Angiewrote on her blog. “I won-der what that’s like. Hazelshould be 5 months soon.

“I know I have been self-ish in my grief — it’s reallya matter of survival. Butthis is not all about me, isit? God is at work in all thathas happened since Hazel’sbirth, and I try to stayfocused on that. But some-

times I let my selfish naturetake over and feel sorry formyself. I weep for Hazel, forRyan, for my family. Andwhen I am done I feelempty. I feel nothing, just asI do tonight.”

In one small, symbolicway, Hazel has found herway to eternal play.

A few weeks ago, theHeidelbergers planted a treein North Mankato’s SpringLake Park in her memory.

The tree sits in the park’ssouthern edge. To the west,kids dig in the sand andclimb monkey bars. To theeast, boys and girls shagflies and grounders in sum-mer evening baseball games.

And to the north, kidsdrop fishing lines in SpringLake, families stroll aroundthe path, and kids of all agescool off in the pool.

Hazel’s tree standsamong it all, its pink leavesa reminder that a little girlwith a broken heart shouldbe here.

The Free Press / Tuesday, June 22, 2010 A5

Submitted photo

Angela Heidelberger (center) started up the nonprofit support group It’s My Heart, the first Minnesotachapter for the national organization. Helping her out are officers Samantha Paris (left) and Sarah Ruley.

Fundraiser plannedA lasagna supper and

fundraising event will beheld Monday to raisemoney for the new south-ern Minnesota chapter ofIt’s My Heart and for thefamily of HazelHeidelberger, who diedin January of a heartdefect.

The event runs from 5-8 p.m. at Our Savior’sLutheran Church, 1103N. Broad St., Mankato.Tickets are $10 for adultsand $5 for kids.

A silent auction, whichincludes MinnesotaTwins tickets, a night ina New Ulm bed-and-breakfast and more, alsowill be held.

Proceeds from ticketsales will go to theHeidelberger family.Proceeds from the silentauction will go to thesouthern Minnesotachapter of It’s My Heart,founded by AngelaHeidelberger.

It’s My HeartIt’s My Heart of south-

ern Minnesota can befound by visiting itsmy-heart.org. Click on chap-ters, then Minnesota,then southernMinnesota.

They offer awareness-building and educationservices about congenitalheart defects. To contactthe chapter, call507-779-2489 or [email protected] mailing addressis P.O. Box 261,Mankato, MN 56002.

HAZEL: It’s My Heart local chapter starts up

McClatchy-TribuneNews Service

WASHINGTON —

President Barack Obamapledged a series of new ini-tiatives to support responsi-ble fatherhood on Monday,but called on fathers to rec-ognize that government can-not do what they can bestdo in the home.

In his annual Father’s Dayevent, Obama urged fathersto mentor their own chil-dren and to reach out tothose in the communitywho don’t have strongparental or guardian sup-port.

“I can’t legislate father-hood. I can’t force anybodyto love a child,” Obama tolda crowd gathered at a com-munity center on the south-east side of Washington.“But what we can do is send

a clear message to ourfathers that there is noexcuse for failing to meettheir obligations.”

The message echoed thatof a noted Obama campaignspeech from 2008, when hetold absent fathers to stopmaking excuses and takeeconomic and emotionalresponsibility for their chil-dren.

Last year at this time,Obama launched what hecalled a national conversa-tion about fatherhood, send-ing Cabinet secretaries andother staffers around thecountry to hear from fathersand their families about thechallenges they face. AtMonday’s event, Obamaunveiled some of the ideasthose trips fostered.

The White House is kick-ing off a program to recruitand support mentors.

Obama: Government can’tmake up for detached dads

june 20, 2010 36 pages serving ...bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mankatofree... · expect...

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