This cutie is 9 year old Lauren Shields daughter of Jeanne and David Shields of Stony Point. As some of you may know Lauren’s journey started April 2008.When she was admitted to Westchester Medical Center in the midst of heart failure.  Lauren was transferred to Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital (Columbia ) 5 days later after she was diagnosed with cardiomyopothy. Hearing positive feedback about this hospital her parents wanted the best care for her to get better. They were given a plan with no guarantees of how this would work in Lauren’s case. They were told that steroid treatment would give 33% chance of  getting her heart stronger, staying the same or even getting weaker. After many medications and doctor visits she started to take a undesirable turn. On January 9, 2009 she was picked up from school and was taken immediately to Morgan Stanley .She was admitted on a steroids program that initially sustained her but did not work for long. On February 3, 2009 she was placed on the heart transplant list with high priority after a long period of waiting for a new heart, March 5 she was weak and needed to be placed on cardiac and respiratory life support in a drug induced coma. Finally on March 19, her donor was found and surgery performed. She spent 11 days under sedation during which time she suffered a stroke .As a result of her lengthy drug induced coma and stroke she is effected by atrophy in both her feet. She has been fitted with ankle braces to help her she is receiving physical therapy from Helen Hayes Hospital 3 days a week. She will be on essential anti-rejection meds for life, which are very costly. Her mother resigned from employment to care for her daughter as any parent would do.