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Melissa Hooper – Melissa married to Jim, a mother to 4 wonderful children, and grandma to one little boy.  She became a heart mom in June 2005 when her 3rd son, Dylan, was born.  Dylan endured 3 open heart surgeries, a cardiac arrest, and many other procedures & hospitalizations.  After fighting CHD’s for 3 years, Dylan earned his angel wings on June 30, 2008.  We have been blessed to add to our provided services a bereavement group. Families of Heart Angels can now come together, support one another, and speak to others about their sweet Angel.
Help-A-Heart

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Emily Graber – Emily lives in Prairie City with her husband, Darin, & her 5 amazing children—one of whom she is blessed to call her heart hero, Gabe.  She is constantly running them around to their activities & appointments.  Emily is a CPA & currently works at the Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Her passion for Help-A-Heart obviously came from her own personal experience & she is so lucky that this organization has allowed her & Melissa to pay it forward & ease some of the financial burdens that an extended hospitalization can bring on a family.  Her favorite part of Help-A-Heart is all of the wonderful heart moms that she is now fortunate to call friends & the bonds that have formed through support group.
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Help-A-Heart


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Wendy Meyer – Wendy met Melissa & Emily when her daughter, Makenzie, was born in 2005. Help-A-Heart provided a meal to her family during Mak’s open heart surgery & wanted to repay that debt ever since! Wendy founded the Help-A-Heart Support Group in 2010. She lives in Waukee with her husband, Derek, & her 3 beautiful children.  Wendy is currently working full-time as an administrative assistant at Lutheran Church of Hope.  Her passion was to create a safe place for families of children with congenital heart defects to share their stories, connect with families, and get emotional support. Wendy’s favorite part about the organization is seeing all the families that have been blessed emotionally, financially, and the strong friendships that have formed from this amazing group!
[email protected]
Help-A-Heart