Morgan's Miracle: Weatherly teen uses life story as inspiration for senior project

Morgan Mengle is truly a miracle child. The 16-year-old Weatherly girl has gone through more than most people go through in a lifetime.

She has undergone not one, but four open heart surgeries to correct problems related to her congenital heart defects; had 13 cardiac catheterization procedures; and lived for months in the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for various respiratory infections.

But through it all, Morgan has remained positive, and now the Weatherly High School junior wants to share her story while giving back to the hospital that saved her life.

On May 16, Morgan will host "Morgan's Miracle Heart," a fundraiser event that aims to raise awareness for congenital heart defects, while raising money for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"Once I got into high school, I knew I wanted to find a way to help the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia because they helped me so much," Morgan said, noting that this was the reason she decided to take on this fundraiser as her graduation project. "My goal is to raise $10,000," which she noted, will be split between the hospital's cardiac unit and its Child Life, Education and Creative Arts Therapy programs.

"Morgan is amazing," said her senior project adviser, Sarah Peterlin. "I have been teaching 13 years and I have never heard Morgan complain once. I think that is something that is a testament to her and to this project. She is a real go-getter.

"The Children's Hospital (of Philadelphia) is extremely important to Morgan," Peterlin continued, noting that she also has two daughters who have congenital heart defects. "I think her project is one that goes above and beyond. She's really giving back."

Born with a broken heart

Morgan's miracle journey, as well as the fight of her life, began on June 6, 1998.

After a premature delivery of twins Morgan and a baby who didn't survive Morgan's parents, Traci and Billy Mengle, learned that their surviving daughter, who tipped the scales at only 3 pounds, 9 ounces, was born with a congenital heart defect, compromised immune system and was missing a bone in her right arm.

The new parents, who had a healthy 5-year-old son at home, now faced some of the hardest decisions of their lives.

"It's hard to put what we were feeling into words," Traci said. "We didn't know anything prior to finding out upon birth and that was really rough. The emotions of having a child is the greatest day of your life but then seeing there are issues that need to be taken care of, it's a very mixed emotional time. It was an emotional roller-coaster.

"If I had to say how I felt, it would be distraught and looking for strength to get you through it."

Over the next 30 days, Morgan lived in the neonatal intensive care unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital of Allentown before being flown out as an emergency case to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on July 4.

At only 1 month old, Morgan underwent her first open heart surgery to install a shunt, which moved blood from an area in her shoulder down to where it needed to be.

On July 24, Morgan's original due date, Traci and Billy were finally allowed to bring their daughter home.

But the joy of having a newborn in the house was short-lived.

Mending Morgan's heart

The next nine months, Traci recalled, were almost tougher than the first two, with endless doctor appointments and respiratory infections.

Common colds were closely monitored because they would eventually turn into something worse.

In late February 1999, after numerous doctor visits, the cardiologist overseeing Morgan's care told the Mengles that it was time to do a total repair of Morgan's heart.

This meant yet another open heart surgery to fix Morgan's four heart abnormalities, known as Tetralogy of Fallot. Of all congenital heart defects, Morgan's was one of the most complicated problems.

Surgeons installed a conduit into Morgan's heart, which traveled from her right ventricle to a pulmonary artery to detour around a narrowing that was blocking blood from flowing, as well as repaired 47 ventricular septal defects, or holes, that had opened in her heart since birth.

Three weeks after the surgery, Morgan was again hospitalized for nearly a month with Respiratory Syncytial Virus.

The eight to 10 years that followed looked promising, with Morgan's health improving and only cardiac catheterization needed to fix some issues that appeared.

Returning to normal life

The family dynamic in the Mengle household changed after Morgan's birth, Traci said, but they made it work with the help of their families and the Weatherly community.

"We took on some different jobs in our roles as parents," she said, noting that she was forced to be away from her son, Kevin, who is now 21, while Morgan was in the hospital. "It was that family support that helped us get through this. Between my mom and Billy's mom, they kept Kevin while my heart was breaking at the hospital."

Morgan said that through it all, her brother has helped her greatly, and is thankful for the close relationship she has with him today.

While growing up, Morgan also helped share her stories as an ambassador for Easter Seals in Carbon County.

"It was an important part of her life," Traci said.

She enjoyed being active and doing things other children her age did, including playing T-ball and basketball on youth teams.

But in the spring of 2010, Morgan needed her third open heart surgery due to changes in her heart that appeared as she grew; and her fourth in December 2012 to change the conduit that was installed 13 years earlier.

In October 2013, Morgan and her family faced another medical setback after she was diagnosed with infective endocarditis, an infection caused by bacteria that enter the bloodstream and settle in the heart.

She was hospitalized for over a month, came home with a picc line and needed 24 pills a day to fight the infection.

"It was really a hard experience because of missing school," Morgan said. "I missed basketball that season and it just put a lot of stress on me."

A very bright future

Today, Morgan is healthier, but still fights for her life daily, and is living like any other typical high schooler.

She is active on her school's basketball team, is part of the Health Club and loves Spanish. She also has her own YouTube channel, Morgan's Miracle, which she uses to share her experiences of growing up with congenital heart defects.

"Weatherly School District has been fantastic throughout Morgan's school years," Traci said. "They have helped us get through and give us the guidance we need."

And as Morgan looks toward the future, she sees herself using her story to inspire and help others, noting that she would like to go into the cardiovascular technology program at the Pennsylvania College of Technology after graduation.

"I'm really excited," Morgan said.

"We want people to know that Morgan wants to pay it forward, as well as back to the Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania, where she spent so much of her life," Traci said. "The cards she was dealt have not stopped her from working toward her dreams."

About the event

When: May 16, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Where: L&L Volunteer Fire Company, 390 S. Lehigh Gorge Drive, Weatherly.

What: A day of congenital heart defect awareness fundraiser to help the cardiac unit of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, as well as the hospital's Child Life, Education and Creative Arts Therapy programs.

Goal: Raise $10,000

Activities for the day: Food, bake sale, music, face painting, tricky trays, bean bag tournament, a slideshow presentation "Living with CHD: Morgan's Journey," T-shirt sale.

Other activities: Flying Aces Motorcycle Run: sign up at the club house at 9 a.m., run leaves at 9:30. $15 for driver, $5 for passenger.

For more information, follow Morgan's Miracle Heart on Facebook; to donate for the bake sale or tricky tray, call the Mengles at 570-401-2616.