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Meet Your Neighbor: Sharon & Gregg Carlson
By Callie Thomas
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford
Never do the bonds of family become stronger than when tested by adversity. Residents Sharon and Gregg Carlson and their three children are a testament to this, having faced one of the most harrowing periods in their lives. At just three months old, their youngest daughter, Julia, was diagnosed with a serious heart condition called Cardiomyopathy, a disease which weakens and enlarges the heart muscle. While she was put on medications, she was expected to one day need a heart transplant. “After a couple of years, her heart began to function normally,” says Sharon Carlson. “Even now at age thirteen she’s still on three different meds every day, but the doctors no longer say that she’ll need a transplant.” Julia now goes to school, plays soccer and leads a normal life. But it is because of those auspicious few years that Sharon, Gregg, Julia and her siblings, Peter and Linnea, have committed themselves to the Children’s Heart Foundation. “We’ve been part of the organization from its inception in 2001 along with Julia’s cardiologist and other families of heart children,” Gregg Carlson said. “We’ve made a concerted effort to be a part of and help other families through the organization.”
Sharon and Gregg are Co-Presidents of the volunteer board of directors. They are passionate about making a positive difference in the lives of children with heart conditions throughout Nevada. “We empower heart families through emotional, educational and financial support to inspire a higher quality of life.” The foundation’s goals include educating the general public and healthcare professionals on pediatric cardiology issues, as well as supporting families as they deal with the emotional and financial stresses exacted by a child’s heart problems. To that end, they also provide a carefree camp for those children with heart conditions who might not otherwise have the chance to meet other heart kids and participate in a true camp experience.
The only medically supervised event in the state, Camp Mend-a-Heart is for children who are born with or develop heart problems, and takes place at the end of June. The camp was conceived to provide these children with the ability to run, play and banish their fears while bonding with other kids who live with the same challenges. “This will be our seventh camp and our entire family has been involved with it since the very first year,” Sharon said. “Gregg and I go as staff and help out any way we can; however, in the past couple of years I’ve been running the Craft Shack, although Julia is the crafty one in the family. She has attended camp every year and helps me out with a lot of the pre-camp preparations. Our two older kids have been teen counselors.”
Each year, the Carlson family is continually amazed by the outpouring of assistance by Las Vegas residents. “There are teenagers who volunteer as counselors, firefighters, nurses, cooks who help out in all sorts of ways,” Gregg added. “The nurses aren’t just giving medicine; they’re having water gun fights with the kids and encouraging them through the ropes course.”
The couple of 25 years has looked back at their journey through their daughter’s crisis and at how it has drawn the family closer together. “Even through it all, we’ve been given something that we’re passionate about and that’s a wonderful thing.”
