DUXBURY, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) – In Duxbury, one mom and business owner is working hard to improve the quality of life for heart transplant patients with a generous and heartfelt donation to Boston Children’s Hospital.
“I hope everyone in the hospital gets better,” said Kate Bowen’s oldest daughter Kendall. Bowen and her 4 children are no stranger to hospitals.
At just four months old, her youngest daughter Georgia Claire Bowen received a heart transplant after being born in cardiac arrest. Bowen says when Georgia was born her heart rate was 380 beats per minute.
After months of uncertainty, Bowen recalls getting a call from Georgia’s doctor, two years ago, that Georgia was getting a new heart. “I was speechless. I was crying tears of joy, I screamed, and I had to pull over because I’ve never felt so much joy and heartache in such a short period of time,” said Bowen.
Now 2 and a half years old, Georgia is out of the hospital and home with her family because of the hard work of her doctors at Boston Children’s.
Bowen is a busy mom of 4 and the owner of Petit Peony, a children’s clothing shop in Duxbury. During the pandemic, Bowen started to make gowns for the hospital's youngest patients.
She says Georgia’s stay in the hospital inspired her to design “The Georgie.”
“I wanted her to look like the little baby I hoped and dreamed for, to dress them and have their little toys there, it just humanized her,” said Bowen.
The Georgie has become a huge success, and Bowen says they’re supplying gowns for hospitals across the country. Bowen was able to start the Georgia Claire Bowen Foundation and donate a million dollars to Boston Children’s Hospital and the doctors who saved Georgia’s life.
“As her mother, I will work until the day I die to make sure she lives longer than me and lives the longest, happiest and healthiest life possible,” said Bowen.
She adds this money will go to working on improving the quality of life for heart transplant patients. Bowen says philanthropy is now part of her mission in life and they plan to donate to the hospital every year.
For more information on the foundation, you can check out their website.
WBZ NewsRadio's Brooke McCarthy (@BrookeWBZ) reports
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(Photo: Brooke McCarthy/WBZ NewsRadio)