Meet Penny, who sings with all her (new) heart

Anyone who meets 8-year-old Penny can tell she’s a born performer. She is magnetic, and her confidence pervades any room she enters.

When asked about her passions, she’s crystal clear: singing and art.

“I want to be a famous country singer or an artist,” Penny said.

While hospitalized at Children’s Health, she recorded her first album with her team of music therapists, conducted a Christmas orchestra, appeared on the hospital’s internal TV network playing Bingo and was on the news. She also got to meet some famous role models: country singer Drew Baldridge, a few Dallas Cowboys players and Charlotte Jones, the Dallas Cowboys' Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer.

“Everybody did so much to make sure Penny was happy and gave her opportunities to be brave and fuel her creativity,” Penny’s mom, Paula, said.

Unstoppable optimism and positivity

Penny has always been optimistic, even when really, really sick.

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Even as a baby, on a ventilator, Penny was smiling. I’m a worrier, but Penny helps me stay positive.

— Paula, Penny's mom

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Penny’s boundless energy makes it hard for others to believe she was born with multiple serious heart problems, including atrial ventricular septal defect and double outlet right ventricle with absent pulmonary valve syndrome. Essentially, she was born with half a working heart, which required two major heart repair surgeries at 5 months old and age 6.

And then, at 7 years old, Penny suddenly went into life-threatening congestive heart failure. That’s when physicians sent her to Children’s Health for more specialized care and expertise.

Learning Penny needed a heart transplant

At first, Penny’s family wasn’t thrilled about being transferred to a new hospital, with new doctors. But in retrospect, Paula is so glad they landed at Children’s Health.

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There were a lot of things that came up when Penny was in congestive heart failure where we thought, ‘Oh my gosh, how are we going to get through this? But we got through it, because her team got to the core of the issue in just the right amount of time. And they just care so much about helping kids get better.

— Paula, Penny's mom

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Soon after they arrived at Children’s Health, they discovered Penny's best treatment option was a heart transplant. They’d known a transplant was likely in her future but had thought it was still years away.

Penny’s care team worked hard to get Penny healthy enough to be listed for transplant. With her outgoing personality, she easily made friends with many of the nurses and Child Life specialists. But nurse Grace was her favorite.

“Grace is really sassy, just like me, and she would braid my hair and play Uno with me and just always made time to spend with me,” Penny said.

When she was well enough, Penny also loved going to the hospital’s playrooms to make friends with other kids in similar shoes. That’s where she met Kimberly — who was also waiting for a new heart.

“Kimberly and Penny became very close, even though they have opposite personalities,” Paula said.

Coincidentally, the two best friends received their heart transplants within days of each other. And they left the hospital on the same day, hand in hand.

Paula appreciates that Penny made a friend who simply “gets” what she’s been through. And Penny states matter-of-factly: “God told me that Kimberly and I have to be friends.”

Appreciating the support and expertise

Paula feels grateful for the important relationships she formed at Children’s Health. She and all the family members that showed up to help support Penny — including Penny’s stepdad, biological dad, three sisters, and grandpa — always felt welcome and like valued partners in Penny’s care.  

“The staff were always updating us, with any news about Penny, and not just at rounds. They always gave us more than enough information, and that helped me educate the rest of the family about what was happening and how it would affect Penny down the road,” Paula said.

But perhaps most of all, she appreciates how Penny has no bad feelings whatsoever about the many months she needed to be in the hospital, hooked up to tubes and machines.

“She has such a uniquely positive perspective on her life and what she’s been through. It’s such an inspiration for me and for others,” Paula said.

Excited about life ahead and the growth of the hospital

Penny’s heart transplant was successful. Now, Penny is home, happy to put a pacifier back in her newborn sister’s mouth when she fusses and spend as much time as possible outside.

“Before my new heart, I could only run for two seconds. Now, I can run down the street to feed the ducks,” Penny said.

When asked why she wanted to be a patient ambassador and share her story with donors and other families, she gave a charmingly candid answer: “I want to be famous, and I want to inspire others.”

Penny’s determination and confidence are striking.

“Penny reminds me of her late grandmother, who nobody ever messed with. She was completely loving but also a force to be reckoned with, just like Penny,” Paula said.

Paula is excited to see what lies ahead for Penny as she sings new songs and paints new pictures. She’s so grateful to donors who help make the complex care kids like Penny need possible and give them a chance to make their mark on the world.

As Children’s Health constructs its new Dallas pediatric campus, a joint investment with UT Southwestern Medical Center, Penny’s family is looking forward to seeing the health system go beyond what it already does for the next generation of children.

With the support of generous donors, the new campus will provide the infrastructure needed for innovation and strategic collaborations between Children’s Health and UT Southwestern to transform pediatric medical and surgical health care delivery. 

“I feel my daughter is worthy of having a fulfilling life because she fulfills other people’s lives. Children’s Health gave us the opportunity to do something I don’t know would’ve happened at another hospital,” Paula said. “And with the new expansion of the hospital, even more kids will get all the care they deserve.”

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