COFFEE COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) - A Coffee County High School student, Lily Kramer, is making it her mission to support the hospital that helped save her life ten years ago.

Kramer was diagnosed with a rare heart condition, Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, at just seven years old. This syndrome affects one to three out of every 1,000 people, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Kramer described what it was like to have her condition, saying, “I just wanted to have fun and do normal thing, but I wasn’t able to because I would feel sick if I moved around too much.”

Diagnosing and treating a rare condition like Kramer’s posed a major challenge for Coffee Regional Medical Center (CRMC) — the rural hospital where she received treatment.

Like many in smaller communities, CRMC faces barriers like limited funding, staffing shortages and restricted access to specialized care.

Dr. Mark Brulte, Emergency Department Medical Director at CRMC said, “She was seven—that’s very scary, in rural hospitals, the definition of loneliness is having a very sick child come in, with limited backup or resources. That’s what we faced.”

After her diagnosis, Kramer was transferred to facilities in two different cities before finally undergoing a successful heart ablation procedure—a treatment that uses heat or cold energy to destroy the tissue causing her abnormal heart rhythm.

Now a healthy high school student, Kramer is paying it forward. She launched a fundraising campaign to support CRMC’s Emergency Department, crediting the team there for giving her a second chance at life.

“I want to give back because they influenced my life so much,” Kramer said. “I want them to be able to give others the same amazing care that they gave me.”

Kramer’s campaign will run through the end of April.

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