KAWAIAEA FAMILY PHOTO A fund-raiser on Maui is planned today for Maui heart transplant patient Daphne Kawaiaea. Kawaiaea is making progress, staying in a cottage with her mother and attending a school inside the Stanford Medical Center in California. The photograph includes Daphne, at center. The others are, clockwise from lower left, aunt Leinaala Kawaiaea, mother Wallette, aunt Pauline Kalama, father Milton Jr., grandmother Barbara Bagio and cousin Toni Marie Kalama.

Maui rodeo and
concert will benefit
young heart patient

The 11-year-old received a heart
transplant Feb. 27 and is doing well

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By Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.com

WAILUKU >> The mother of an 11-year-old Maui girl who recently had a heart transplant said the family is grateful for the support from the community, including a rodeo-concert benefit today featuring country-western singing stars Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.

"I just want to thank everybody for the help and support they're giving us," said Wallette Kawaiaea, who is with her daughter in California.

Daphne Kawaiaea, a sixth-grader at Hana High and Elementary, will be unable to attend because she is under close monitoring after her surgery and living in a cottage with her mother 10 minutes from the Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif.

Daphne said she is feeling better although somewhat homesick. "I miss my friends, family and the food," she said.

Kristofferson said he and his five children who attend school in Hana know Daphne, and the community has rallied to help her by holding prayer services and Masses at the church every night.

He said he was amazed at how quickly she got her heart transplant and began to recover from the surgery.

"I've got to say what happened shows the power of prayer," he said. "That was so fast. It was just a blessing."

Kristofferson said he went through a triple bypass heart surgery a couple of years ago.

"When I think of a little girl going through that kind of terror and pain, it really gets to you," he said.

The rodeo at Oskie Rice Arena in Upcountry Maui starts at 8:30 a.m., with a concert at 2 p.m. Kristofferson takes the stage at 5 p.m. and Nelson at 5:30 p.m., with both expected to do a couple of songs together.

The Maui Roping Club, the organizer of the benefit, is charging $10 for admission and $8 for a steak dinner.

Daphne's aunt, Roxanne Prito, said other entertainers will also be performing at the concert, and the event also will feature pony rides and a silent auction.

"It's nice to have all the people get together to make this happen," Prito said.

Daphne, who enjoys riding horses, took first place in the keiki competition during a Fourth of July rodeo a couple of years ago.

Maui physicians discovered her enlarged heart on Feb. 5. Family members have been told a virus may have weakened the heart.

She received a heart transplant on Feb. 27 and moved out of the hospital into the cottage on March 8.

Wallette said Daphne has been through two biopsies and both were negative, indicating the body is accepting the new heart.

"She's not tired or anything," Wallette said. "She's always hungry because of the medication. We've got to watch what she eats."

Wallette said Daphne can no longer eat raw fish because of the increased potential for bacterial contamination, and she also has to avoid salty foods.

"She's missing poki, and she keeps asking for chicken luau," Wallette said.

She said the family has been receiving frozen packets of poi that they microwave for her.

Wallette said if Daphne's condition continues to improve, she could be back in Hana in three to six months.

She is currently attending classes with other young patients five days a week at the medical center and can walk for short distances.

Wallette said people are amazed at her recovery.

"Everybody who sees her ... they cannot believe," Wallette said.

For more information or to donate money, call Prito at 808-575-2836.