American Red Cross to honor Plainfield teen with rare disorder for outreach efforts

PLAINFIELD – Freshman year of high school intimidates many teens. Thankfully, most will never need brain surgery on top of it.

But that’s what happened to Caley Trepac, now 18, of Plainfield.

Small wonder Caley clung to a teddy bear – the one her boyfriend gave her – before, during and after the procedure. As she recovered, Caley had one goal: Collect and donate 25 stuffed animals.

“I just wanted to give back and bring comfort to children that had to be in the hospital,” Caley said. “I knew how scary it was, so I was hoping to help some kids at least.”

At its 14th annual Heroes Breakfast on April 28, the American Red Cross of Chicago and Northern Illinois will honor Trepac as its Youth Hero.

In the last three years, Caley, who has a neurological disorder of the brain and spine called Chiari malformation, has donated thousands of stuffed animals to hospitals through collection drives.

Caley’s first-grade teacher, Kimmy Sorg, now a reading specialist at Ridge Elementary School in Plainfield, nominated Trepac for the award. Sorg said Caley, even at age 6, was sweet and kind to everyone.

“She was one of those first-graders who smiles all the time and is happy to be at school,” Sorg said.

Ridge Elementary eventually became a drop-off site for the stuffed animals, and accumulates 30 to 50 each time the school holds a collection, Sorg said. When Sorg learned about the Red Cross award, she immediately thought of nominating Trepac.

“I’m proud of her for using her cause to help other people,” Sorg said. “It’s a real blessing that I got to see her grow up into a productive citizen.”

Frightening news

Toward the end of eighth grade, Caley began having headaches, numbness and vision loss, said her mother, Wendy Trepac. Caley’s doctor ordered an MRI, which diagnosed the disorder.

According to the Mayo Clinic website, Chiari malformation occurs when brain tissue extends into the spinal canal. Doctors wanted to perform brain surgery immediately, Wendy said, but agreed to delay it for several months.

“She was freaking out and having anxiety about missing the start of freshman year. How would she be able to catch up after missing so many new things?” Wendy said. “So we asked if we could please postpone it until after she started school and got in the swing of things, since she did need to be home-schooled after the surgery.”

Caley had brain surgery in November 2013 to relieve pressure and prevent further damage. Surgery doesn’t cure the condition, Wendy said. Because of the Chiari malformation, Caley has scoliosis – a sideways curve in the spine – and syringomyelia, a cyst in the spinal cord.

Neither currently requires treatment, just monitoring, Wendy said. For the rest of her life, Caley must avoid any activities that cause jarring of her neck: horseback riding, roller coasters, go-carts, trampolines or changes in barometric pressure, such as those experienced when scuba diving.

Comfort Fur Kids

While Caley was in the ICU after surgery, her heart broke for the other sick children, including the babies and toddlers. So at her one-year anniversary, Caley decided to collect a few animals and take them to Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, where she had had the surgery.

That few became 700 and Caley needed a trailer to transport them. Encouraged, she decided to collect stuffed animals the following year, as well.

In 2014, Caley collected 900 and donated them to both Rush and John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County in Chicago, Wendy said.

Then in 2015, Caley gathered more than 1,000 and gave them all to the second hospital because the need was greater at the low-income facility, Wendy said.

“Her goal now is to bring this into other states,” she said.

Caley’s outreach project is now officially named Comfort Fur Kids. As of April, it’s also officially a nonprofit. And Caley is expanding her efforts while battling the effects of her Chiari malformation – fatigue, headaches and vision problems – as she pushes forward with her goal of becoming a teacher.

In fact, before Caley can bask in Thursday’s honor, she will have more MRIs on Monday and Tuesday. The amazing part? She can’t understand why the Red Cross is making a fuss about her.

“It’s overwhelming,” she said.

Wendy feels Caley’s attitude underscores why her efforts impress people.

“I don’t think she even realizes how many people she’s affecting. She’s just so humble about it,” Wendy said. “She says, ‘I’m just a girl who wanted to help somebody.’”

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For more information or to donate to Comfort Fur Kids, visit www.comfortfurkids.com