THE NEWSPAPER OF AVONDALE, BUCKEYE, GOODYEAR, LITCHFIELD PARK & TOLLESON
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This Week
BUSINESS .... 17 Sodalicious, Bikini Beans come to West Valley
SPORTS ......... 19 Family is the key to Kyle Bradish’s success
The Voice of the West Valley for 37 years
Church establishing Gospel Justice Center
OPINION ...............12 BUSINESS.............. 17 SPORTS ..................19 CALENDAR ............20 FEATURES ..............21 OBITUARIES ...........27 CLASSIFIEDS ..........28 WEST
July 13, 2022
West Valley teen in need of kidney transplant BY ABIGAIL LACOMBE
West Valley View Staff Writer
Z
aleya Hart, a once funny and expressive girl, is now facing the question, “Why me?” The 15-year-old Verrado High School student is awaiting a kidney transplant at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Her family is working closely with Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) to share her story and raise funds needed for the transplant. “COTA has been so amazing throughout this whole process of helping to share Zaleya’s story,” said Zaleya’s mom, Deborah. “The biggest thing for Zaleya is bringing awareness to kidney failure. What people don’t notice are the day-to-day struggles with kidney failure. She just wants to bring awareness to it and what it means to be an organ donor. It’s selfless and helps someone continue to live.” The family is tasked with raising $35,000, of which $2,023 has been met as of July 8. To donate, visit COTAforTeamZaleya.com.
Harrowing scare
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Zaleya was enjoying her freshman year of high school when, during winter break
of 2021, things changed. Healthy and athletic, Zaleya began vomiting often and feeling ill whenever she ate, which was a shock to her and her family. As the problem worsened, she lost sight in one eye. After a routine checkup, doctors found that her blood pressure was 182/120. Briefly considering merely acid reflux, the doctor ordered bloodwork. At 11 p.m., she was taken to Phoenix Children’s Hospital and admitted to ICU. She learned her kidneys were functioning at less than 1%. Deborah recalled a nephrologist saying, “From this point on, her life will be forever changed.” “In his 27 years of doing his job, he has never seen someone in that condition who was still alive,” she said. Emergency surgery, twice-daily lab work and a grueling ninehour-a-day dialysis treatment line resulted in an abnormally Zaleya Hart’s family has raised $2,023 of their $35,000
goal for her kidney transplant. To donate, visit Kidney...continued on page 3 COTAforTeamZaleya.com. (Submitted photo)
Arizona’s ACCEL expands to Saudi Arabia
BY ABI CELAYA
West Valley View Staff Writer
A
CCEL’s Ajyal Center recently became the first organization outside of the United States to be recognized with an NCASES accreditation for special education. Based in Phoenix, ACCEL is a nonprofit that offers a wide range of services to individuals with special needs and de-
velopmental disabilities, with locations in Buckeye, Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa and Saudi Arabia. “That was a real honor for us,” said Dr. Phillip Tanner, ACCEL International’s executive center director. “The process has been wonderful. It has helped us improve our practice and really go through and check ourselves in terms of the quality of care we are providing.”
Gordon Comfort, ACCEL’s chief operations officer, said Tanner and his team do “an amazing job.” “The services rendered are of the same caliber as any quality special education program in the United States,” added Danielle Damm, executive director of NAPSEC.
ACCEL...continued on page 4