SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -
To call it a parent's worst nightmare doesn't begin to describe what happened to 14-year-old Kierrah Quincy.
"It can happen to anyone, and basically it'll all be okay," Kierrah Quincy said.
That's the message Kierrah Quincy wants people to know, especially young people who survive having a heart attack.
Four months ago Kierrah Quincy, didn't worry much about having a heart attack.
She was in great shape, played sports, and was a normal student attending 8th grade. But, last May as she was on her way to the gym with her family, she suffered a heart attack.
"I had a sudden cardiac arrest, it just happened in the backseat of a car, and they don't know exactly why, so they're still trying to figure that out right now," Kierrah Quincy said.
Doctors at the hospital say she suffered a heart attack. She had surgery to fix her irregular heart rate. Since then the recovery process has not been easy.
"I had to do some physical therapy for my left arm, because they had to implant it underneath my muscle," Quincy said.
She tells us friends and family have helped her stay positive.
"At school they made cards and big posters to put in my hospital room, which just brightened it up," Quincy said.
But no one has been more instrumental in helping Kierrah recover, than her mother.
"For the first month or so she could not take her eyes off of me, I had a little baby-sitter. She's very concerned and a little bit stressed out, especially now, with bills," Quincy said.
Her mom Traci, says she's grateful for all that's been done to help her daughter has survive, but keeping up with medical expenses is difficult.
"Umm...we're just struggling with trying to figure out, is it this bill that has to be paid this month, or is it this bill, and it is piling up. We need a little help."
Looking back she is grateful to be alive, and says this experience has helped her push even harder for her goals.
"If anything, I am restraining some things, but with other things, I'm kind of going more for it, I'm bolder now."
She tells us, if it's possible, she'd like to go skydiving.
Friends have set up a benefit to help the family defray some of their medical expenses.
It will run until 10PM Saturday, at the Bottom's Up Patio and Bar near Lewis and Clark ball field in Sioux City.
You can also donate at Great Southern Bank in Morningside.
