Meet Kelsey. This 17 month old, the daughter of John and Lisa Corlito of Haverhill, has had 6 open heart surgeries since April and hasn’t been home since.

Kelsey Corlito needs your help.

From the Kelsey Carlito Foundation’s heart-wrenching blog:

With all the emotions of young parents – fear, anxiety, hope – John and Lisa handed their baby into the arms of the cardiac surgical team at Boston Children’s Hospital on April 5, 2010, the day after Easter. After nearly eight hours in surgery, the news following her operation was not the news any parent would want to hear. New words were used; “complicated, tricky, and unique.” Kelsey would need more surgery and she wasn’t going to survive without it. The doctors, with compassion, urged Lisa and John to take their baby home and “enjoy her for a week.” However, she never got to go home. No balloons or welcome home signs. Eight hours after being told she could go home, Kelsey lay limp in her father’s arms straining to breathe. She was transferred to the ICU in pulmonary edema.

And that was only the beginning! So far Kelsey has spent nearly half of her life in the hospital, undergoing various heart surgeries.  I can’t even imagine the toll this has taken on the Corlito family emotionally, let alone financially. Luckily, the Corlitos have a very thoughtful neighbor, Helen Zbitnoff, who alerted me to a fundraiser being organized to help the family pay the mounting medical bills threatening to put their livelihood and home at risk.

On Sunday January 16 from 12 – 5pm, bring this flyer into the Papa Gino’s on River Street and 20% of the pre-tax proceeds from any purchase you make (sans coupons) will go towards the Kelsey Corlito Foundation. There will also be a raffle of donated items including Red Sox tickets, so dine-in and try your luck. (But if you just want to grab a pie and run carry-out counts, too.) RSVP on Facebook today so you don’t forget!

If you’re not able to make the fundraiser but would still like to help a fellow Haverhillian, donations may be made online via Paypal or you can send a check to: Kelsey Corlito PO Box 2561 Westwood, MA 02090.

Also, hug your kids.