Bronx Family Spends Holidays at Home Thanks to Help From CCF

TENAFLY, N.J., Dec. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation (CCF) is providing much needed financial assistance to a Bronx, NY, single mother with two children diagnosed with cardiomyopathy - a chronic and life threatening heart disease. The disease resulted in her daughter receiving not one, but two heart transplants. 

Beliany Tamariz has been struggling to pay her family's bills since her daughter, 16-year-old Johendy, had her second heart transplant two years ago. Beliany had to quit her job to take care of Johendy who needs constant care. This fall, the family was in danger of losing their home due to unpaid rent on their small Bronx apartment. CCF's grant through their Financial Assistance Program will pay for the family's overdue rent among other bills needed to stay in their home. 

"We are so happy to help the Tamariz family in time for the holidays," says Lisa Yue, president and founder of CCF, a national organization based in Tenafly, N.J. "Unfortunately, there is no cure for cardiomyopathy and many times the only treatment is a heart transplant.  Caring for a child with cardiomyopathy can put an enormous amount of stress on the family. When a family is struggling financially, it can be devastating."

CCF's Financial Assistance Program was launched in December 2011 as an additional support service for cardiomyopathy families in need. It assists low-income families with cardiomyopathy-related medical and non-medical needs. Since inception, the Program has awarded more than $24,000 to 10 U.S. families.

Johendy was just a year old when she was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a disease in which the heart cannot pump blood efficiently through the body. Johendy would later be put on the transplant list and receive a new heart in November 2007 at the Mayo Clinic. Unfortunately, Johendy began rejecting her new heart. Beliany grew more concerned when her daughter lost consciousness while walking down the street. Soon after, Johendy received her second life-saving heart transplant in April 2011.

"When I received the news that we would be receiving the grant, it lit up my heart. We are so appreciative of this gift and it will be so very helpful," says Beliany. Currently, Johendy is undergoing photopheresis therapy, a blood treatment to prevent Johendy's body from rejecting her second heart, twice a week. Beliany also has a son, 7-year-old Eliezer, who has been diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), another form of cardiomyopathy. 

About The Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation

The Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation (CCF) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to finding causes and cures for pediatric cardiomyopathy.  CCF started in 2002 with one family's determination to call attention to this poorly understood heart disease and to take action on the lack of medical progress and public awareness.  Since then, CCF has grown into a global community of families, physicians and scientists focused on improving diagnosis, treatment and quality of life for children affected by cardiomyopathy, and has committed more than $2.1 million to research and treatment initiatives.

Contact: Sheila Gibbons
Tel: 866-808-2873 x 905
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation