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Shelby teen waiting for new heart gets surprise of lifetime

SHELBY, N.C. — A teen with tough health conditions got her special wishes granted Sunday.

Shea Hopper, 16, is on the Shelby cheerleading squad, but after receiving a heart transplant when she was 10 months old, the heart is now failing. She is on the waitlist for a new heart.

The Marty Lyons Foundation’s Watch for Wishes heard Hopper’s story and wanted to make her wish of a shopping spree at Best Buy come true.

“It means a lot because you don’t really get a lot of chances like this in life,” said Shea.

Her mother, Tyjuanna Hopper said things like this show she’s not alone in her treatment and that everyone is hoping for a full recovery.

“It’s just not me and her family. She’s got other families behind her illness and what she’s going through and just a lot of people out here to help her,” said Tyjuanna.

Despite her condition, Shea said she is staying positive and planning for her future. She said she wants to go to school and become a doctor.

“I have been doing this for 38 years, and I’ll do it another 38 to help these children,” said Marty Lyons, a member of the fabled New York Jets Sack Exchange and the team’s current radio broadcaster, who has chapters of his foundation in 13 states.

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