Special to The Hays Daily News

PLAINVILLE -- Recently at Mr. K's Foodtown, a fundraiser for Trissan Ann Ayers, daughter of Dustin and Chantel Ayers, took place. A quilt sewn and donated by John and Terri Collins of Plainville was raffled, with the proceeds to benefit the Ayers family with their continuing medical expenses as they routinely travel to the Children's Hospital in Aurora, Colo.

Eight months old, Trissan just now is able to roll to her side following successful open-heart surgery in December. But her road to recovery is a long one. Trissan was born with multiple heart defects for which she was expected to undergo surgery sooner. But during a routine echocardiogram, doctors discovered Trissan's condition proved much worse. Her new diagnosis, tetralogy of fallot and complete atrioventricular septal and canal defect, is rare. Of all congenital heart defects, only 1 percent have her condition. In fact, a heart surgeon might see only 10 cases in his or her lifetime.

Trissan also proved unique in another way. A chromosome anomaly was detected where 23 genes from chromosome 8p are missing, yet 100 extra genes also are located on the same chromosome. It is the only recorded case in the world where genes were deleted yet duplicated on chromosome 8p. A geneticist from the University of Kansas is working with the Ayers to learn from Trissan's development.

Due to the congenital heart failure, Trissan has been unable to feed herself, taking nourishment through a nasogastric feeding tube. The pain associated with the NG-tube caused Trissan to develop a mental aversion to oral eating. She soon will undergo surgery to replace the NG-tube with a gastric feeding tube until she can eat on her own.

Since her 10-hour open-heart surgery, things are looking better for Trissan. She is more active, leading her to develop muscle and gain weight. While in the hospital, she was serenaded by "American Idol's" Ace Young and received a visit from Pro Football Hall of Fame Quarterback John Elway.