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"Delta
Desserts" Aids "Have A Heart Benefit" for LSU Alumna
"Delta Desserts" – Tri-Delta
sorority's annual philanthropic fund-raising event that features live music and
delectable desserts – will donate half the event's proceeds to aid the "Have a
Heart Benefit" for Jennifer Shih, a Tri-Delta alumna. The other half of the
proceeds will go to St. Jude's Hospital, Tri-Delta's national philanthropy. Last
year the event raised more than $4,000.
Delta Desserts will
be held Wednesday, Nov. 3, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Tri-Delta house located at
4070 W. Lakeshore Drive. Local bakeries and restaurants will donate the
desserts, and some will be made by the sorority's members. Tickets are $4 each
and will be available at the door.
Shih is the daughter
of Jason Shih, professor in LSU's School of Architecture, and Janet Shih,
manager in LSU's Computing Services Center. She received her bachelor's degree
from LSU and is a graduate of the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. She
completed her residency program in pediatrics in Atlanta at Emory University.
In June 2004, Shih
moved to Cincinnati to begin her fellowship at one of the top cardiology
programs in the nation. A few months later, the 29-year-old began to experience
heart problems of her own. After performing an echocardiogram on herself, a
skill she had learned the previous month in her fellowship, Shih found fluid
around her heart. Doctors diagnosed her with Giant Cell Myocarditis, a rare and
fatal disease requiring Shih to receive a heart transplant on Sept. 12.
After the operation,
Shih requested that her original heart be sent to Dr. Leslie Cooper, a leading
Giant Cell Myocarditis specialist at the Mayo Clinic. She wishes to collaborate
with Cooper to further study the disease.
Today, Shih is doing
well and her body is accepting the transplant. However, the road to recovery is
long and filled with regular biopsies, immunosuppressant drugs and a high risk
for rejection. Also, she may not be able to work for six months to a year and
may never be able to practice as a doctor, as her immune system may be too
greatly compromised. While health insurance covers the cost of the transplant,
there is a great deal of costs that Shih and her family will incur.
Shih's friends and
family have organized a benefit to help with her recovery costs. The "Have A
Heart Benefit" will be held on Friday, Nov. 5, at the Park Tavern in Atlanta,
Ga.
For more information
about the event or to contribute to the "Have A Heart Benefit" visit the Web
site at
http://www.haveaheartbenefit.com
or send a contribution to the Jennifer Shih Medical Fund, c/o Michelle Giannini,
215 North Avenue NE, Apt. 3204, Atlanta, Ga. 30308.
For more information
about "Delta Deserts," contact Courtney Prince, president of Tri-Delta Sorority,
at 225-387-0456.