9-yr-old couldn’t afford private jet for life-saving heart transplant—stranger’s $14K gift made it happen
Some generous gifts might spark hope for people who have tried and exhausted all their other options. A family that needed a private jet to take their 9-year-old daughter for her partial heart transplant at Duke University was short on funds and had used all of their options, too. Right at that moment, a stranger's kindness showed them a way out. The girl, Katja de Groot, was born with a rare heart defect and had undergone three open-heart surgeries since birth. However, she required a more advanced medical procedure this time around, according to King 5.
The procedure of a partial heart transplant had been pioneered at Duke University and Katja needed it to have a shot at a better life. "Unlike a full transplant, which replaces the entire heart, this surgery replaces the aortic and pulmonary roots with living donor tissue — valves that grow with the child. No permanent blood thinners. Fewer future surgeries. It was a blend of transplant and innovation and it was exactly what Katja needed," her parents explained through the GoFundMe page. However, she couldn't fly on a commercial airline from Seattle to North Carolina because of her weakened immune system. She needed a private medical jet to take her to her destination. Such a flight costs over $28,000 for a one-way trip.
The family couldn't afford that amount and such expenses weren't covered by insurance. So they decided to start a GoFundMe page for her, which unfortunately could not manage to meet its goal of $50,000. They had collected $29,997 through the fundraiser and needed help to get the rest of the amount as soon as possible. Katja's heart was failing, and the family only had a few months to find a solution, per their fundraiser page. "We kind of were looking at backup plans for backup plans, but none of them were without risk," Katja's mom, Jennifer de Groot, told King 5.
Soon enough, a stranger who could deeply relate to their concerns reached out with help after watching their story on the news. John Chontofalsky of Puyallup had lost his wife to a stroke in 2019 and decided to cover the remaining cost of the girl's flight by donating $14000. "I know firsthand the pain, the suffering of not knowing the future. I know in my wife’s heart, she would be right behind me — actually in front of me — caring for this young girl. It was the right thing to do. I feel like it was meant to be," the man pointed out. He could remember the medical flight that flew his wife from Nevada to Washington and wanted to help.
The girl was in heart failure at the beginning of July and was supposed to stay in North Carolina for four to six weeks. Chontofalsky also decided to arrange for the family's return flight so they wouldn't have to worry about the finances. The family thanked everyone who made the flight possible for the girl. "From the bottom of my heart, as a mother, I want to thank everyone. We didn’t think this was going to be possible," Jennifer expressed. Katja added, "Thank you for all the help! If you can see this, I love you!"