Stories From Main Street: Little Girl Goes The Distance For Valhalla Hospital That Saved Her
VALHALLA, NY (WCBS 880) - Brooklyn Benedikt is cute as a button, with bright eyes, rosy red cheeks, and a smile that could melt an iceberg.
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Brooklyn, who is 6, is fine, but her father Greg remembers the day the doctor had some upsetting news.
"She looks us both in the eye and very frankly says 'Brooklyn has a hole in her heart and it needs to be fixed soon.' And five weeks later, Brooklyn, at four-and-a-half, had open heart surgery," Greg told WCBS 880 reporter Sean Adams.
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The procedure is common, but nothing is routine when it's your child.
"He's like 'Yeah, we have to stop her heart to operate' and you know, I lost it then," said Greg, who lives with his family in Yonkers.
"When we were having the surgery the first thought is 'We have to go to the city. We're 10 miles from the city. We have to go in there'," he said.
But that trip wasn't necessary.
Instead, Brooklyn had open heart surgery at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla.
"It is an amazing place. We immediately felt at home there," said Brooklyn's mother Andrea. "It's very special."
"The people, the place, the service, the professionalism. It just blew us away," said Greg.
The hospital has named Brooklyn grand marshal for the Go The Distance Fun Walk.
The Benedikts have their own fundraising campaign.
"We know money is tight so we just ask people, 'Can you donate your coffee money?'" said Greg. "To me, it's a little ridiculous, the money people spend for these gourmet coffees. $5 for a cup of coffee."
Brooklyn and four-year-old sister Quinn are thinking big for this charity walk. They have a particular celebrity in mind. Justin Bieber if you're reading this, Brooklyn is hoping you'll join the walk, or donate some cash.
To find out more about the event and to donate, visit donateyourcoffeemoney.org. The one-mile walk will take place on the grounds of the hospital on Sunday, April 22, 2012.
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