Rockford mother starts fundraiser to support daughter’s heart surgery costs

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A Rockford woman is using her eyebrow threading business to launch a fundraising campaign after her newborn daughter was born with a heart condition.

Frankie Carlson, 33, runs Mad Threading at 320 N. Alpine Road, Suite 120B.

Her newborn daughter, Tommie, was born with a heart defect that doctors have classified as among 1% of known heart conditions: Ebstein anomaly, a malformation of the heart valves which causes blood to leak backwards in the heart.

While Tommie remains in Madison, Wisconsin, for surgeries to repair the defect, Carlson said she is struggling to pay for her daughter’s care.

So, she started a fundraising campaign, called “Brows for Tommie,” hoping a few more customers at her business would help ease the financial burden.

The family also started a GoFundMe that Carlson said has already received incredible support.

“We did not expect it to blow up that much, but Tommie is still fighting,” Carlson said. “We really didn’t know what was going to happen the first few days. We didn’t think that she was gonna make it. So it’s been three weeks now, so we’re more hopeful.”

To date, the GoFundMe has gathered nearly $4,000.