Unplanned Heart Transplant Sparks Fundraiser at Area Salon

For a young girl who endured a debilitating unplanned heart transplant, one local salon is ready to make a difference.

Centered between Brookfield, Sussex and Menomonee Falls, is hosting , a fundraiser to help 22-year-old Danielle Sommer pay for her stacks of medical bills.

"In January, Danielle was admitted to the ER for what she thought was flu-like symptoms or even possibly pneumonia, but it turned out to be much more serious," reads Sommer's bio on Aurora Hospital's website. "Danielle was suffering from a bacterial infection called endocarditis affecting her heart valves."

Sommer was born with a condition called Marfan syndrome, a disease that infects the heart valves and aorta, but rarely gets serious enough where a person needs a transplant.

However, with the emergency transplant over and Sommer doing well, the reality of the medical bills is setting in. 

That's why Sommer's friends and the staff at Clark Richard Salon are donating their time and talents for a fundraising event on Saturday, April 28 from 4-8 p.m. Along with a bake sale and silent auction, Clark Richard's staff are giving 100 percent of the proceeds from haircuts and eyebrow waxes to Sommer's cause. The salon created a Facebook event for the fundraiser.

With April being National Donate Life Month, Sommer says she now has an entirely new respect for the cause. 

"It really comes home for me now. It's a priceless gift."