Beaver Area cares and hopes to send some “local love” to a special student.

Senior Cameron Rawl, affectionately known as “Little Cam,” was born with a heart condition called Hypo-Plastic Left Heart Syndrome which is a birth defect that affects normal blood flow through the heart.

November 4, Cam finally received a much-needed heart transplant. He spent six weeks in the hospital recovering from the procedure until he was strong enough to go home. Once he was home, Cam continued to recover from the surgery and was doing great.

In January, Cam went to Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh for a routine post-operation heart catheterization/biopsy. Unfortunately at the hospital, Cam tested positive for COVID and had to return home to quarantine.

A week later, Cam hadn’t recovered from COVID and was taken to the emergency room and admitted to the COVID unit. While in the hospital, Cam received an additional diagnosis of Vasculitis in the brain (inflamed blood vessels), Epstein Barre virus, and Post Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disease (cancer in the lymph nodes).

English teacher Mrs. Heather Bixler has teamed up with a local t-shirt company, Beavtown T’s, to show Cam some “Local Love.” Beavtown T’s does a “Local Love” fundraiser where they produce t-shirts in support of someone, and the proceeds from the t-shirt sales go to the family to help with their many expenses.

Cam never let his conditions hold him back from his passions, especially for cooking. In the fall, Cam plans to attend the Culinary Institute of America and earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Culinary Arts. So Cam’s “Local Love” t-shirt features a chef’s hat with a heart in the middle that says, “Team Cam.”

If you’d like to order a shirt to Cam, please see one of the flyers posted around the school for the QR order form.

If you’d like to help in a different way, please consider donating gas or restaurant gift cards to help with meals as the family travels back and forth from the hospital.

The senior class also plans to send some local love to their classmate as he continues to recover.

Also, feel free to send Cam a card of encouragement to the following address:

Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh

C/O Cameron Rawl

PICU Room 509

Pittsburgh, PA 152224

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Bixler in Room 408.