Benefit set for infant with heart condition

Pizza Hut will hold a benefit Thursday to help the family of Matilynn Jo Moore, a 3-month-old girl who recently had an operation for a congenital heart defect.

People just need to tell the person who rings up their order Thursday they are donating to Matilynn Jo and the restaurant will contribute 20 percent of the purchase price of any in-house, pick-up or delivery order to the fundraiser.

Bridget Morse, a cousin to Moore’s mother, Summer Stilger, said the benefit will be all day Thursday and a tip jar will be at the restaurant for people who wish to contribute additional money.

Morse said Matilynn Jo suffers from Tetralogy of Fallot, a rare congenital heart condition that causes a reduction in the levels of oxygen in blood that flows throughout the body.

“Literally, when she was born, she was not producing her own oxygen at all,” Morse said.

The website of the American Heart Association says the condition is brought on by four abnormalities in the heart: a hole between the lower chambers of the heart, blockage from the heart to the lungs, a blood vessel lying over the hole in the lower chamber and overly thick muscle around the lower right chamber.

A medical team picked up Matilynn Jo, her mother and her father, Gary Moore, at the Havre City-County Airport last month and flew them to Seattle where Matilynn Jo underwent surgery.

Morse said Maitlyn Jo is back in Havre and breathing on her own but will need to undergo a second surgery in the fall. The family still has medical bills from the first surgery, she added.

“They need help,” Morse said.

People can also help Matilynn Jo and her parents by donating to an account at Bear Paw Credit Union. Morse said all people need to do is go into the bank and say they want to donate to the Matilynn Jo Moore benefit account.