A fundraiser with heart

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Jacob Asbury, 14, puts up a shot as his teammate Seth Hutchinson, 14, waits to grab the ball and pass it back to him for another shot as they compete in the “Hoops for Heart” fundraiser at Westside Middle School Friday. Matt Hamilton/The Daily Citizen
Kyle Fleming, 13, puts up a shot during the “Hoops for Heart” event. Matt Hamilton/The Daily Citizen
From left, Ty Mooreland, Morgan Smallen, Dr. Stanley Stewart and Rebecca Beavers. Matt Hamilton/The Daily Citizen

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February 4, 2012

Rachel Brown rachelbrown@daltoncitizen.com The Dalton Daily Citizen Sat Feb 04, 2012, 12:20 PM EST

Morgan Smallen was born with a heart defect, but it’s only been in the last few years she’s started having severe problems.

When she was 2, doctors diagnosed her with a problem in her aorta, a large artery that originates in the heart and extends down. At 10, she passed out during cheerleading practice at Westside Middle School due to a dilated aorta. Doctors began monitoring her more closely.

When her aorta reaches five centimeters, she’ll have to undergo an operation to have the valve replaced. The 13-year-old’s aorta is at 3.8 centimeters now, and she has to have it checked at least every six months.

Westside Middle School held a “Hoops for Heart” event on Friday in her honor to raise money for the American Heart Association. The basketball team competition was attended by nearly the entire 550-student school, and 25 two-person teams participated.

Physical education teacher Ty Moreland said he expected to collect about $700 before the day was finished. This is the second straight year the school has hosted a Hoops for Heart.

“They say that whenever they hit puberty, that’s what makes (the aorta) grow,” said Rasha Smallen, Morgan’s mother. “She doesn’t run or do pushups or do situps,” but she is a flyer, the person who is lifted or thrown in the air, on the cheerleading squad and loves it.

Smallen said she’s impressed that a public school would get behind the AMA and her family the way they have. In October, nearly everyone in Morgan’s seventh grade participated in the Heart Walk in Chattanooga.

“It means the world to me to have everyone here,” Smallen said.

Makina Cook, a seventh-grader who has known Morgan since kindergarten, said it’s hard knowing her best friend has such a serious condition but it “means a lot” to be able to help raise money for an organization that funds research to help cure such problems.

Seventh-grader Carter Hayes said he’s known Morgan for a long time and at one time had a heart murmur himself.

“I think it’s going to a good cause,” he said of the $1 tickets to watch the game and $5 per person charge to participate.

Seventh-grader Sami Bennett said she’s been friends with Morgan since kindergarten and loves basketball and helping people. Seventh-grader Tanner Boyd said he found out about Morgan’s condition last year and decided to help out through Hoops for Heart.

Jean Saunders, youth market director for the American Heart Association of the Greater Chattanooga Area, said the AMA is the second-largest fundraiser for cardiovascular heart disease and stroke research next to the federal government.

“In North Georgia, we probably have 10 different Hoops for Heart events,” she added.

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