A heart for Ashlyn?

Ashlyn Bohrer, 15, of Hugo, has had five open-heart surgeries since she was born with congenital heart disease. She’s had a pacemaker since she was three. She needs a new heart to live. It’s her last hope, WCCO reported in February, just before a community fundraiser to help cover some of her family’s expenses was held in White Bear Lake.

It didn’t help earlier this year when her pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon in Minnesota announced he’s leaving for another job, and the local hospital couldn’t attract a new surgeon quickly. So the family had to look for another pediatric heart center and settled on a hospital in Milwaukee.

It turned out to be a good choice. Today, the family got a call. There’s a heart for Ashlyn.

But the family, who have been chronicling their journey on Facebook since last fall, also knows what that means for another family.

They’re not sure yet whether everything will fall into place to allow the surgery to go ahead. This is a day in the life of a family with a sick child.