Centre County Heart Walk: More than 400 gather to raise funds, disease awareness

Centre Daily | Matt Morgan
ABBY DREY â€" CDT photo

COLLEGE TOWNSHIP â€" Michelle Homman proudly walked behind her daughter, Brooke Haney, as she led about 400 people through the Millbrook Marsh Nature Center trails Sunday.

Haney, who has survived multiple open-heart surgeries â€" including two transplants â€" also smiled as she walked at the front of the Centre County Heart Walk. She said she felt good leading the pack.

It was a positive moment for both her and Homman, who have participated in more than five walks.

“It’s amazing to be out here and see so many people come out,” she said.

As recently as 2009, Homman didn’t know if that moment would ever come.

Haney was about to undergo her second heart transplant, and Homman was flooded with emotions. She felt joy that a heart was available, guilt that someone else had just died to give up the organ and fear that she might never see her daughter again.

“It’s like your worst nightmare because you just never know what’s going to happen,” she said.
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