Charity golf tournament supports 13-year-old heart transplant survivor Aurelia Awa
A Hawaii family is raising money for a girl who survived leukemia, two bouts of heart failure, and a heart transplant, and the costs will follow her for life.
- Aurelia Awa, 13, was born with leukemia, lost her sight to chemotherapy side effects, and had heart failure at 4 and again at 9.
- She spent nearly a year at Stanford on a mechanical pump before receiving a donor heart in April, and came home to Hawaii on August 1.
- A heart transplant is not a cure — she faces lifelong medication, biopsies, and repeated flights back to California.
- The Children's Organ Transplant Association is fundraising for the family, with the money going straight to travel, lodging, and daily costs.
- Organizers still need four more four-player teams and additional sponsors for the tournament, which offers prizes including 49ers tickets; sign-ups run through cota.org.
Outlook: The tournament is a closed event, so the remaining team spots and sponsorships need to be filled before it tees off.