Mike and Diane Campbell established the Danielle Lauren Campbell Foundation Fund to assist families of children born with congenital heart defects. On January 26, 1986, the couple gave birth to their first daughter, Danielle Lauren Campbell. She was 6 lb. 1 oz. with a head of beautiful black hair and dark eyes. The doctors declared her healthy and she was sent home.
Eight days after Danielle was born, Diane noticed that she was having trouble breathing. After calling the pediatrician, she bundled Danielle up and rushed her to the doctor. Danielle was promptly life-flighted to Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital. Diane met Mike and her father at the hospital. An hour later, they received the devastating news--Danielle was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, a complex and rare heart defect in which the left side of the heart is critically underdeveloped. There was nothing that could be done. That night, Diane and Mike were led to the ICU nursery where they spent private time holding their precious Danielle Lauren.
While grieving, Mike and Diane were inspired to one day begin a foundation in memory of Danielle to assist families of newborns with congenital heart defects. In October 2011, Mike, Diane, and their children Erin and Sean established the Danielle Lauren Campbell Foundation Fund. The Campbell family is dedicated to helping families access advanced procedures and medical equipment.
“This is what Danielle’s Foundation focuses on: helping mothers stay with their child during operations, assistance in receiving help for food expenses while at the hospital, and financial assistance with gas cards to help with travel expenses,” states Diane.
To date, the fund has assisted several families and supported the purchase of a Vein Viewer, a machine that helps clinicians see and access veins with greater speed and accuracy, significantly reducing the pain associated with repeated attempts and/or the inability to advance the catheter.
In the future the Campbell family wants to encourage more people to become involved with the fund and give a "GIFT FROM THE HEART, FOR THE HEART."