Danine Curtis is a single mother of 4 children and has been an art teacher for over 23 years. She has taught in the Ansonia, New Haven, and Bridgeport school districts and has dedicated her career to inspiring children to be their best creative selves. She is the most hard-working, selfless, and positive person. There were significant financial hardships of raising 4 kids on a single salary, particularly with balancing home maintenance with food and other basic needs. She turned to DIY to fix any problem on a budget, including replacing an entire roof by herself after the ceiling collapsed. Danine spent the whole summer buying leftover roof tiles, watching YouTube videos, and hand nailing the entire roof herself. The battles did not stop there; she’s done everything from replacing kitchen cabinets, countertops, and floors to showers and plumbing. She balanced all of this while going to every single practice or event for her children, and doing so with a smile.
Unfortunately, at only the age of 51, Danine suffered 3 heart attacks and irreversible heart damage in May 2023. There was too much heart damage to do a bypass surgery or any alternative that could improve her condition. As the sole financial provider of 4 children, Danine returned to work to pay the bills. Throughout the year, Danine’s health became progressively worse, to the point where any time outside of work was needed to be spent sleeping out of pure exhaustion and lack of heart function. In December 2023, Danine’s family made the decision that it was best for her to stay home and focus on her health, despite the financial concerns.
Danine spent the year in and out of the hospital and the only long-term solution was a heart transplant. In February 2024, she was approved for the transplant list and the waiting journey began. In April 2024, Danine had severe difficulty breathing and was admitted to Yale Hospital. She had significant water build-up around her lungs. On April 8th, she had a surgery to have a mechanical pump help her heart function and alleviant this water pressure. However, this procedure is only a temporary solution as it can only be used while in the ICU at the hospital. She was moved higher on the transplant list due to the urgency of her condition.
On April 14th, she got the first shock by her defibrillator. This is a device that detects dangerous rhythm of heart beats and sends an electric shock to restore a normal rhythm. Over the next four days, she had three more shocks. Each event is essentially a life-saving shock, and the high frequency in only a few days became a large concern. These shocks moved Danine higher up the transplant list.
On April 21st, Danine and her family got the biggest blessing they could ever ask for when she successfully received a heart transplant. Words cannot describe the gratitude for this gift of life. It’s been an incredibly challenging and emotional year, but there’s a spark of hope for a healthy future for Danine. Danine’s daughter has prom and high school graduation in just a few weeks, and it means the world that Danine will get to experience them right there, along with many other future events. Danine has been recovering well since the surgery and is beginning the long journey towards improved health.
As Danine’s family prepares for her return home, there are many finances to plan for. Danine will be unable to return to work for the foreseeable future. Any financial support will put less stress on Danine’s children and family to focus more on her comfort and care. Thank you so much for your generosity, support, and words of encouragement for Danine and her family through these challenging times.
Amy’s Angels is providing a challenge grant to help assist the family. For every dollar donated Amy’s Angels will provide fifty cents up to 10,000. To make a contribution to the fund please go to
amysangels.org.
