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Residents show heart with benefit craft fair in Beverly

Photo by Doug Loyer Deanna Harlow holds Jillian and her sister Breanna Tullius holds Kyler at the craft and vendor show fundraiser Saturday in Beverly.

BEVERLY — A craft and vendor show was held Saturday to help raise money for a couple of Congenial Heart Walks this year. The event was held in the Waterford Township Community Building in Beverly.

“We are raising money for our congenital heart walks,” said Heart Walk Team Captain Deanna Harlow. “We will be walking this year in the Columbus and Cincinnati Chapter walks.”

Harlow and her twin sister Breanna Tullius both have children with heart defects.

“My daughter Jillian was born in May 2017 with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). The left part of her heart didn’t develop,” said Harlow. “That’s how we got started with this. Also my twin sister Brenna Tullius has a 4 year old son, Kyler Tullius, who was diagnosed this past May with a heart defect.”

Both children go to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus spending a lot of time in hospitals with appointments. Harlow said Jillian has had 18 different surgeries in the past 20 months.

The money raised from Saturday’s craft show goes toward Congenital Heart Walks that give money toward research to help find cures and try to figure out why kids are born with heart defects. One out of every one hundred kids in the U.S. are born with a heart defect.

The Congenial Heart Walks that they go to are in Columbus and Cincinnati. A campaign is set up for each team. They usually have a one mile and a 5K run or walk.

“They have given us a lot of support,” said Harlow. “You can talk with them and get an idea of what your road will look like. We knew pre-natally about our daughter’s heart. We didn’t think about heart defects until our Jillian was born. After she was born we found out how common it was. I found out with an ultrasound at about 28 weeks. Jillian was delivered at OSU Medical Center and a Nationwide Children’s Hospital team immediately took her.”

The Congenial Heart Walk groups use money for research and they also help families with care packages and meals. They have helped the Harlow family tremendously.

“I really feel good about this craft show. Deanna is doing a good thing,” commented Michael Harlow, Deanna’s husband and Jillian’s father. “It’s for a good cause.”

“We’re a family,” stressed Tullius. “This means a lot to us.”

It was discovered that Breanna’s son Kyler Tullius, 4, had a problem with his aortic valve last spring.

“I actually had heart surgery when I was little as well,” said Tullius. “Once I had my surgery, I was cleared. I just follow up with cardiology once in a while. It will be different for Kyler.”

The community supported the craft and vendor show, which had a wide variety. There were jewelry, wooden items, candles, soaps, lamps, photography and clothes just to mention a few. They also had food concessions, 50/50 tickets and a country store. The crafters and vendors said it felt good to help out such a wonderful cause.

“I love this. I think this is a great fundraiser and it’s for a great cause,” said Michelle Hendershot. “That’s what we’re here for … to support them.”

Hendershot and her husband Dale of Lowell own “M & D’s Crafts and Such.” They sold cell phone holders, crocheted towels and books among other items.

Michele Ferguson of Hackney is just getting started with craft shows and was glad it was for a good cause. This is was her second show. She makes and sells teacup lamps made of saucers and teacups.

Photographer Jan Holden of “Holden the Moment” Photography in Churchtown offered mini photo sessions.

“I’m set up here (Saturday) to do photo sessions for their fundraiser,” said Holden. “It’s nice to get people from the community out here and offer them something different.”

Marinda Tennant, of Beverly, enjoyed checking out seeing what the show had to offer.

“I think this is a great way to raise money and to help out,” said Tennant. “I like visiting local craft shows. It’s cold outside so I thought I might as well do something like this.”

To find out more about heart defects and the Congenial Heart Walks, visit the “Congenital Heartwalk — Central Ohio” Facebook page. Also visit “Jillian’s Journey” which is a blog posting on Facebook that Deanna Harlow keeps up to let everyone know about her daughter Jillian’s progress.

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