•September 9, 2020•
The community is invited to give blood in honor of River Helmuth at a special American Red Cross blood drive held in her name Saturday, Sept. 19,8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Sullivan American Legion, 8 East Strain St., in Sullivan.
River is a four-and-a-half-year-old girl who was born with down syndrome and a congenital heart defect called balanced complete av canal defect, also known as CAVC. CAVC is a large hole in center of the heart affecting all four chambers. A CAVC allows blood to mix and causes the chambers and valves of the heart not to route blood properly. River has undergone two heart surgeries resulting in the need for donated blood which helped made her heart surgeries possible.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.