By JON BAKER

PAWTUCKET  ---  Last August, shortly after Frank Laliberte became the new Curtis Elementary School physical education instructor, he approached long-time principal Jack McCabe and asked him if he could institute the annual “Jump Rope for Heart” program sponsored by the American Heart Association.

“I’ve had kids do it at other schools I’ve taught at, including Baldwin Elementary and Goff Junior High, and those students -- over the past 15 years or so -- have combined to raise $50,000 for the AHA,” Laliberte stated Wednesday afternoon in the Curtis gymnasium. “We’re trying to start a new tradition here, and that was one of the first things I asked Jack: Can we do this? Naturally, he gave me his complete blessing.
“The main reason I’m so involved is because the No. 1 killer in the United States is heart disease, and the No. 3 killer strokes," he added. "The way I look at it, this is a great way to promote physical education programs and physical activity at an early age. I tell these children we’re doing this for a lot of reasons.
“First, they will be raising money to fight heart disease and stroke; second, by the very fact they’re learning how to jump rope, they will be helping themselves, as they will be taking part in an exercise they can do for life; and third, if more people had been introduced to such exercises when they were younger, and followed up, maybe they could have helped their own futures.
“I’ll also tell them, ‘If we get your generation more active, we won’t have to worry about heart disease as much because they would be doing their part to stay healthy.”
On Feb. 25-26, over 80 Curtis students will take to Laliberte’s “classroom” not only to spend an hour jumping rope, but also to aid those less fortunate. On Wednesday, between 10-11 a.m., fifth- and-sixth- graders will snag their ropes after having garnered a bevy of sponsors, while second-, third- and fourth-graders will take to the floor between 8:15-9:15 a.m., Thursday..
One student in particular, however, has taken his participation to another level, and his name is Damon Taylor. The nine-year-old third grader will be swinging his rope nearly nonstop for an hour in honor of 20-month-old Teagan Grant, a girl who was born prematurely -- and with a congenital heart defect, among other afflictions.
“I decided to do this for Teagan because she’s my friend,” Damon beamed. “She can’t talk to be because she’s still a baby, but she makes me laugh with some of her funny faces. I love her.”

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It’s a fabulous, amazing story, how the Grant and Taylor families became linked for life.
They never knew each other, despite the fact they lived so close in this city’s Pinecrest section, but they’re mighty glad they met, despite the sad circumstances.
According to Kim Grant, her darling daughter was born via Caesarian section on June 8, 2007, long before her due date in mid-September -- in other words, 16 weeks premature. Grant said she had immense pains in her side and stomach for about a week before she finally scheduled a doctor’s appointment on June 7. That physician later told her she may be suffering from gallstones.
At least twice on her way home, she pulled to the roadside because of the intense pain. Finally, she called her husband, Joe, who told her to dial “911,” and he would meet her at Memorial Hospital.
Following a battery of tests, doctors told Grant she had Helps Syndrome, meaning she was pre-eclamptic (her internal organs were failing).
“The only way for me to get better was to deliver the baby; that’s what they said,” said Grant, 38, who previously had a miscarriage. “I was really sick, so I wasn’t comprehending anything they were telling me. My husband, he was frantic. He thought we going to lose the baby.”
After her birth, tiny Teagan was diagnosed with bronchial pulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a severe lung disease often incurred by “preemies.” Because her lungs were so undeveloped, she also suffered from pulmonary hypertension of the heart. Doctors placed tubes in her nose and mouth so she could breathe and eat.
“Teagan had to remain in the hospital for five months,” Kim Grant said. “I know we got phone calls on three separate occasions during the night from the neo-natal intensive care unit saying she wasn’t going to make it. She also was considered a DNR baby — do not resuscitate — because she was so sick, but she made it.”
Now 28 ½ inches long and 22 pounds, Teagan is a rather healthy girl, excepting a “trach” hole placed in her neck, one that attaches to an oxygen tank so she can breathe at nights and during naps.
Her mother credits all of her daughter’s nurses for the massive turnaround, but especially Kim Taylor, a pediatric registered nurse who works not only at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence but also for Bayada Nurses, Inc., a home-care agency.
“My boss with Bayada assigned me to Teagan on her third day home, Jan. 16, 2008,” Taylor offered. “I take care of these ‘preemies’ all the time; she’s just a normal kid, as far as I’m concerned. We got to know each other, Kim Grant and I, and so did our families. We started doing family functions together, like going to the Pawtucket Red Sox, birthday parties and Slater Park, and we’ve become very close.”

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When Damon came home with a registration sheet for the “Jump Rope for Heart” program, he became puzzled by one certain line to be filled out: “I’m jumping rope in honor of ……….”
“He told me he didn’t know who to jump for because he didn’t know of anyone in our family suffering from heart disease,” Kim Taylor noted. “I just looked at him and said, ‘How about Teagan?’ He just smiled and said, ‘Oh, yeah!’”
Stated Damon, an African-American child adopted by Kim and her husband: “I know I don’t have to do this, but I want to. I like spending time with Teagan. She’s fun.”
Damon already has raised $142 in sponsorships, but would like to collect over $1,000, his mother said, because he wants to win one of the AHA’s top “thank-you for participating” gifts -- namely a high-end skateboard.
“He’s a great little boy, and very caring,” Kim Grant offered. “When he drops by the house, I’ll ask him to keep an eye on Teagan because I have to move to another room for a few minutes. When I come back in, he’ll be holding her because he had noticed she had drooped to a side of her stroller.
“He’s not afraid to get close to her,” she continued. “It’s almost like he’s an older brother, and I’ve only known the Taylors for about a year. I think Damon learned how to care for her by watching his mother. I also think he feels bad for her because she’s just a baby with these problems. I’m not surprised he wants to help with this jump-roping event. It’s just the way he is.”
Principal McCabe indicated he’s excited about this program because his students will learn outside the typical classroom.
“I feel it’s a phenomenal opportunity for the children in our school to live up to the Curtis Cubs’ traits,” he said of the school’s nickname, also an acronym for “Caring for others; Understanding differences; Be responsible; (and) Strive for excellence.
“One of the great life skills that’s taught here at Curtis is caring for others, being compassionate to others in need,” he added. “This event hits the nail on the head.”
For more information, or to donate, call (401) 729-6252.