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Tobin ‘overwhelmed’ with generosity

Lead Summary

SWEA CITY – An emotional Sonja Tobin was overwhelmed at what the community was doing to help her raise funds for ongoing medical expenses in her battle with a life-long heart birth defect.
“I don’t have the words to explain how I feel,” she said. “It is very nice. It is very generous.”
The benefit was held at the North Union Middle School in Swea City. It included a free will donation meal and a silent and live auction.
Tobin was born with a birth defect in her heart. She has had three open heart surgeries. She had the first surgery in kindergarten to patch and fix a narrowing aorta. A second was at 21 to repair the patch due to stretching as she had grown. Recently, she had her third open heart surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm, replace the old patch and to add in new sections to the aortic artery.
For more on this story, read the Oct. 27 issue of Algona Upper Des Moines.

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