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Fund set up for ailing tot
Wednesday August 6 2008
By Lisa Tallyn, Staff Writer
ABBY KNIGHT
 
A trust fund has been established to aid a local couple and their baby daughter who is in Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children with a serious heart defect.
Abby Knight, born April 16, does not have a right ventricle in her heart, and has been in hospital for the past month undergoing heart surgeries and fighting off infections.
Her parents, Trevor and Nathalie Knight of Georgetown, have been at the little girl’s bedside in the critical care ward around the clock.
It’s been difficult for the family, as they also have a three-year-old son Caiden who is being cared for by his grandparents John and Darlene Knight of Georgetown and Omer and Yvette Lavoie of Orillia.
Nathalie is on maternity leave from her job at Porte Soleil Daycare, and Trevor, who was laid off from his job in May, has had to stop looking for work as his focus has been on being at the hospital with his daughter. At this point, it’s unknown how long Abby will have to stay in the hospital.
To help the family through this time, other family members have established a trust fund.
Donations can be made to the fund at any TD Canada Trust location. The branch number is 2472 and the account number is 6291629.
Cheques can be made out In Trust to Darlene Knight or Joanne Knight. Joanne is Abby’s aunt.
Doctors have already performed the Glenn procedure on Abby to reroute the blood flow through the lungs to the heart, but then had to reverse it because, Nathalie said, “her veins weren’t giving enough pressure to the lungs.”
Doctors then installed a shunt and hope to perform the Glenn procedure again in October. More surgery, known as the Fontan procedure, will be required when Abby is between two and four years of age.
Nathalie said Abby recently got pneumonia and also contracted a fungal infection.
“She’s fighting,” said Nathalie. “They’ve told us she’s very sick. It’s going to be a bumpy road. They are optimistic.”