Hope for Levittown Girl Goes Viral

There is nothing that galvanizes a community and brings it together more than a sick child.

This is the case right now for the Heim family of Levittown and 7-year-old Jaylea.

The little girl who had dreams of princesses and Disney World in her head  is now in a Central Florida hospital.

Jaylea is like any other kid her age. Her  father Jason Heim said  she was “excited” about the idea of a family vacation to Disney World in Orlando.

The long winding trip down I-95 did not, though, end with family fun, rides and pictures of Jaylea with Mickey and Minnie.

Instead, she lays in a Florida children’s hospital  battling the H1N1 virus and  pneumonia, her family said.

“When a 7 year -oid doesn’t want to jump in to a pool, you know something is wrong,” said Heim.

Since being admitted to the Pediatric ICU last Wednesday, she’s battled the virus along with thousands of others as her story of hope continues to infect social media.

The trip from the Levittown section of Bristol Township to Florida started out as any other for a  planned family vacation.  But as the family approached the Florida border, Jaylea started to show signs and symptoms of illness, Heim said.

Jaylea said she wanted to rest, Heim said, but her lethargy persisted as the family of seven  became concerned.

Thinking it was a cold that was going to run its course, the usual cold medicines were purchased, but realizing his daughter wasn’t improving, Heim and his wife took her to the emergency room and from there the story took an unexpected turn.

Heim said she needed to be admitted since “Jaylea’s  lungs were filled with fluid.”

That’s where faith, hope, and community come in.

Jaylea’s uncle, Kevin Williams, a member of the Newportville Fire Company, became increasingly aware of the financial  challenges his family faced.

Their “reserves” were being depleted, he said.

The family has insurance, he said, but the co-pays, medicines. getting the rest of the family back home, for example, created unanticipated costs. In response to the exigent circumstance, Williams created a donation page through  GoFundMe and over 10,000 has been raised in one weeks time.

Williams said he’s amazed by the response from the community at large which crosses state boundaries and appeals to the better angels of social media and those who use it.

Heim and Williams discussed the amounts coming in and decided funds not used for Jaylea’s treatment and  additional costs going towards the others bills would be donated to families in similar circumstances.

“We want to help others, like they have helped us,” both men said.

Heim is taken back by the response of the community. While  listening to him on the phone, this father of faith, is reminded how powerful children are and a community is, when a need arises.

“It’s incredible how everyone has just given so freely, offering  help of all kinds,” he said Saturday.

At that moment,  Jaylea moved about in her hospital bed. “Hey J-Baby,” father said to his little one.

It’s a moment that was private, true, but again spoke of the power children have.

As of Monday at 5:40 p.m., there was good news to share, Heim said. The surgeon sees progress, in describing the medical images , showing less fluid in Jaylea’s lungs, which for now cancels out the need for another surgery, Heim said.

Hope is more than infectious. It lives and breathes within the souls of all who have given a thought, a prayer, a dollar, a word, the family believes.

And once again, the community at large proved the maxim to be true.