A ten-year-old girl waiting for a heart transplant missed out on her schoolâs father-daughter danceâso the staff recreated the magic in a hospital.
Ava Cooper was born in 2014 with several heart defects and had her first open-heart surgery when she was six days old.
Later a sinus infection escalated, pushing her into heart failure, and she was put on the transplant list.
Recently, she has spent more than 200 days at the Cleveland Clinic Childrenâs Hospital in Ohio waiting for a donor heart.
Every February, Ava would look forward to attending a beloved father-daughter dance at school, but missed it this year.
So, on February 12, the hospital decorated a room and turned it into a dance hall.
Corsage in hand, her dad Sean was waiting for Ava outside her room to take her to the ball.
Ava Cooper having a father-daughter dance with her dad Credit: Cleveland Clinic Childrenâs Hospital via SWNSCaregivers, who have been more like family, greeted her with a round of applause as she entered the valentine-decorated space.
She and her father danced to a curated playlist of her favorite songs put together by one of the music therapists.
âIt was an unforgettable experience,â said Sean.
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âWe canât thank Avaâs care team, and everyone involved, enough for making this such a special dance.â
âIâm grateful to be a girl dad,â he said. âIt means being inspired to always be better.â
(Watch the video of the sentimental moment belowâŚ)