A ten-year-old girl waiting for a heart transplant missed out on her school’s father-daughter dance—so the staff recreated the magic in a hospital.
Ava Cooper was born in 2014 with several heart defects and had her first open-heart surgery when she was six days old.
Later a sinus infection escalated, pushing her into heart failure, and she was put on the transplant list.
Recently, she has spent more than 200 days at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital in Ohio waiting for a donor heart.
Every February, Ava would look forward to attending a beloved father-daughter dance at school, but missed it this year.
So, on February 12, the hospital decorated a room and turned it into a dance hall.
Corsage in hand, her dad Sean was waiting for Ava outside her room to take her to the ball.
Caregivers, who have been more like family, greeted her with a round of applause as she entered the valentine-decorated space.
She and her father danced to a curated playlist of her favorite songs put together by one of the music therapists.
“It was an unforgettable experience,” said Sean.
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“We can’t thank Ava’s care team, and everyone involved, enough for making this such a special dance.”
“I’m grateful to be a girl dad,” he said. “It means being inspired to always be better.”
(Watch the video of the sentimental moment below…)
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