D’s Dawgs host run in honor of teen
Thirteen-year-old Danielle Bledy died two-and-a-half years ago. Her foundation, D’s Dawgs, will hold a memorial run May 31 to benefit Danielle’s passions, and also to fund research into what killed her.
Danielle’s mother Carol Bledy said she and her family wanted to keep the event in the community. Recently moving to the Cherry Hill area from northeast Philadelphia, Bledy said the community rallied to help her family after Danielle’s death.
“Between the schools, our neighbors and her friends, we felt that it was our way of supporting the community — making it known where she was from and that we were really grateful to the community, as well as bringing attention to what killed her, which was a brain aneurysm, and supporting some of her passions.”
Danielle died in 2006, the result of an arteriovenous malformation, or AVM. Bledy said her daughter woke up with a terrible headache, was taken to the emergency room at Virtua, and was later transported to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She died three days later, following surgery.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Web site, arteriovenous malformations are defects of the circulatory system that are generally believed to arise during embryonic or fetal development or soon after birth.
The malformations tend to be discovered only incidentally, usually either at autopsy or during treatment for an unrelated disorder.
Danielle’s AVM was in her brain, and just as the NINDS Web site states, Danielle didn’t have any symptoms other than the occasional headache.
“She had headache symptoms off and on, and we had gone to the pediatrician and they weren’t overly concerned about them. So as a parent, I question that every day – was there something we could have done to intervene?” Bledy said. “But she had an AVM, which is only detectable through MRI or a CAT scan, which was not ordered for her until we brought her to the ER.”
Three months after her death, her family created the D’s Dawgs foundation. The foundation will hold its second annual Danielle Bledy Memorial 5K Run and 1-mile Fun Walk at Cherry Hill East High School, on the closest Sunday to her June 2 birthday. A grass-roots effort brought forth by Danielle’s parents, older brother, and two older half-sisters, the run benefits the Brain Aneurysm Foundation and a hospital that’s leading in brain aneurysm research. Last year, D’s Dawgs donated $2,500 to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation and $5,000 to CHOP, though Bledy said she’s not sure which hospital will benefit this year.
“We try to stay on top of who’s doing what in research and what efforts we want to support,” she said. “[There is] not a lot of research going on with aneurisms. But I’ve been finding out through [The Brain Aneurysm Foundation] that Jefferson is doing a lot with aneurisms, not too much with pediatrics, but I’m trying to support what will best go toward research.”
Bledy, who is the nursing director for the labor and delivery division at Virtua Memorial Hospital, said AVMs seems to affect females more and is looking into whether there is a correlation between premature birth and vessel development. Danielle was born at 30 weeks, she said.
The remaining money after the hospital donation goes toward scholarships. Danielle was an avid basketball player, so D’s Dawgs is matching a two-week scholarship provided by Great Times Day Camp, where she used to play. The foundation is also donating a $1,000 scholarship for a student interested in pursuing veterinary medicine because Danielle loved dogs, which incidentally, is the namesake of her foundation, Bledy said. D’s Dawgs also partnered with Gift of Life, as Danielle gave two recipients successful cornea transplants.
“We’re just trying to keep her memory alive and support the things she was most passionate about,” Bledy said. “She was a very — not just because she’s my child — she was a really nice child. She never had anything bad to say about anyone and was always looking to help.”
Bledy said she is looking to get 500 people to participate in the run and the walk. Registration begins at 7 a.m. in the Cherry Hill High School East parking lot, 1750 Kresson Road, Cherry Hill. Cost is $25 for the 5K run, and $20 for the 1-mile walk. A dash for children under 10 years old is free. For more information on the foundation, visit www.dsdawgs.org.
Danielle’s mother Carol Bledy said she and her family wanted to keep the event in the community. Recently moving to the Cherry Hill area from northeast Philadelphia, Bledy said the community rallied to help her family after Danielle’s death.
“Between the schools, our neighbors and her friends, we felt that it was our way of supporting the community — making it known where she was from and that we were really grateful to the community, as well as bringing attention to what killed her, which was a brain aneurysm, and supporting some of her passions.”
Danielle died in 2006, the result of an arteriovenous malformation, or AVM. Bledy said her daughter woke up with a terrible headache, was taken to the emergency room at Virtua, and was later transported to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She died three days later, following surgery.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Web site, arteriovenous malformations are defects of the circulatory system that are generally believed to arise during embryonic or fetal development or soon after birth.
The malformations tend to be discovered only incidentally, usually either at autopsy or during treatment for an unrelated disorder.
Danielle’s AVM was in her brain, and just as the NINDS Web site states, Danielle didn’t have any symptoms other than the occasional headache.
“She had headache symptoms off and on, and we had gone to the pediatrician and they weren’t overly concerned about them. So as a parent, I question that every day – was there something we could have done to intervene?” Bledy said. “But she had an AVM, which is only detectable through MRI or a CAT scan, which was not ordered for her until we brought her to the ER.”
Three months after her death, her family created the D’s Dawgs foundation. The foundation will hold its second annual Danielle Bledy Memorial 5K Run and 1-mile Fun Walk at Cherry Hill East High School, on the closest Sunday to her June 2 birthday. A grass-roots effort brought forth by Danielle’s parents, older brother, and two older half-sisters, the run benefits the Brain Aneurysm Foundation and a hospital that’s leading in brain aneurysm research. Last year, D’s Dawgs donated $2,500 to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation and $5,000 to CHOP, though Bledy said she’s not sure which hospital will benefit this year.
“We try to stay on top of who’s doing what in research and what efforts we want to support,” she said. “[There is] not a lot of research going on with aneurisms. But I’ve been finding out through [The Brain Aneurysm Foundation] that Jefferson is doing a lot with aneurisms, not too much with pediatrics, but I’m trying to support what will best go toward research.”
Bledy, who is the nursing director for the labor and delivery division at Virtua Memorial Hospital, said AVMs seems to affect females more and is looking into whether there is a correlation between premature birth and vessel development. Danielle was born at 30 weeks, she said.
The remaining money after the hospital donation goes toward scholarships. Danielle was an avid basketball player, so D’s Dawgs is matching a two-week scholarship provided by Great Times Day Camp, where she used to play. The foundation is also donating a $1,000 scholarship for a student interested in pursuing veterinary medicine because Danielle loved dogs, which incidentally, is the namesake of her foundation, Bledy said. D’s Dawgs also partnered with Gift of Life, as Danielle gave two recipients successful cornea transplants.
“We’re just trying to keep her memory alive and support the things she was most passionate about,” Bledy said. “She was a very — not just because she’s my child — she was a really nice child. She never had anything bad to say about anyone and was always looking to help.”
Bledy said she is looking to get 500 people to participate in the run and the walk. Registration begins at 7 a.m. in the Cherry Hill High School East parking lot, 1750 Kresson Road, Cherry Hill. Cost is $25 for the 5K run, and $20 for the 1-mile walk. A dash for children under 10 years old is free. For more information on the foundation, visit www.dsdawgs.org.
