Hadley Clark of Oxford recently launched Hadley’s Hearts, a new program that will give teddy bears to comfort children who may be anxious about having heart tests done at North Mississippi Medical Center or the Children’s of Mississippi Specialty Clinic in Tupelo. Hadley knows that feeling firsthand.

“One day when Hadley was 6 years old, she told her kindergarten teacher ‘my heart hurts.’ The school nurse called me to let me know Hadley was on her way to see her for chest pain and that it was probably indigestion,” says her mother, Jennifer. “Hadley had no medical history and was a full term, healthy baby. The school nurse called me back about 10 minutes later and said that she could not count Hadley’s heart rate because it was extremely high, she was pale, and they had called an ambulance.”

Jennifer left her job in Oxford and sped to Batesville Elementary School, arriving just as they loaded Hadley in an ambulance. “By the time they had her on a monitor, her heart rate had returned to normal,” Jennifer says. They saw a pediatric cardiologist in Memphis, who told them the episode could be attributed to a few different things, but that it may never happen again.

The next day, while playing in a T-ball game, Hadley told her coach that her chest was hurting. “I am an RN, so I knew what to do, and I knew her heart rate was very high,” Jennifer says. “We rushed to our local ER, and as soon as she was placed on the monitor, her heart rate was 253 beats/minute.”

Hadley was airlifted to Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis, where she was diagnosed with Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT), an irregularly fast or erratic heartbeat that affects the heart's upper chambers. “After that we went through lots of ER visits, follow ups, and tried medication, but she ultimately had to have a cardiac ablation at 7 years old,” Jennifer says.

Soon after her surgery, Hadley began seeing Dr. Frank Osei, a pediatric cardiologist with Children’s of Mississippi Specialty Clinic in Tupelo. “She’s had some tachycardia issues, and Dr. Osei has been amazing and thorough!” Jennifer says. She first saw Dr. Osei in 2018 and now only has visits as issues arise.

Hadley chose Hadley’s Hearts for her platform as Junior Miss Pearl of the South. “Whether a child has SVT like Hadley or some other heart condition, she wants these stuffed animals to bring a smile to their face and comfort during a difficult time,” Jennifer says. “She remembers how scared she was during that time and how amazing Dr. Osei and the staff were at making her feel safe.”

Because of her experience, Hadley wants to become a nurse one day. “She has been inspired by the care she’s been given,” Jennifer says. “So for now, she hopes these teddy bears help patients like her.”

Hadley’s Hearts teddy bears comfort anxious children before heart tests