Thread by @InsideEdition

Kyleigh Ward is only 6-years-old, but has had three open-heart surgeries and is waiting for a heart transplant. But it’s the kindergarten graduation, held just for her, that has this little fighter and her family overcome with emotion. THREAD: ietv.co/3uqj9NO

1/7 “We just immediately started crying,” said Briancca Trammell, her mother. “We was crying before we even got into the gym.” “There probably wasn't a dry eye in the building,” Milton Ray, the principal of Crossroads Elementary, adds.

2/7 “I got a phone call from one of my teachers, telling me her student was having heart surgery. And she would probably not make it to graduation,” Milton says. “And she wanted to know if she could pick up her certificate. I said, ‘We can do a little better than that.’”

3/7 Kyleigh’s heart condition has had her in and out of hospitals since she was one week old. Her mom says she had holes in her heart, pulmonary hypertension, and restrictive cardiomyopathy. That’s why this transplant is so desperately needed.

4/7 Since Kyleigh is waiting for a heart transplant, she’s spent her year learning remotely. Because there are no transplant hospitals nearby, her mom, Briancca, is constantly on-call for their family to go to Texas, Alabama, or Arkansas for this life-saving operation.

5/7 Until then, Briancca says they are just trying to stay positive. “She knows that she's going to have to go back, but she's just like, ‘Mommy, I don't even need a heart. My heart is fine.’ But she just stays positive through it all. And that's what keeps us going.”

6/7 Caring for Kyleigh means this single mom can no longer work outside the home, making finances a challenge. Luckily, a GoFundMe has been created to help with expenses.

You can support Kyleigh by donating to her #GoFundMe: gofundme.com/Team-Kyleigh

7/7 And to all of the people who have joined Team Kyleigh and supported her through this journey, Kyleigh has a simple statement: “Thank you!”

For Inside Edition Digital’s full article: ietv.co/3uqj9NO