She was born with half a heart and was not expected to live past 6 months old. Now 12, Brooke has undergone five heart surgeries, four lung surgeries and 27 other minor surgeries.

"She's always thought she was different from other kids," Scott said.

The day Scott picked her daughter up at the first Camp Mend-a-Heart five years ago was the first time she saw Brooke comfortable in her own skin.

"She came up to me and said, 'mom, I'm no different,' " Scott said. "I've never seen my daughter smile so big."

Brooke is one of about 40 local young people, from 7 to 18 years old, who attend Camp Mend-a-Heart each summer. The camp, designed for children with heart problems, is from June 28 to July 1 at Rapport Executive Ranch in Alamo.

The Children's Heart Foundation, based at 3006 S. Maryland Parkway, puts on the five-day camp, which is free to campers. It costs more than $40,000 to run the camp each summer.

The foundation is in need of $25,000 worth of donations to send 42 kids. It costs $1,000 to sponsor a teen camper and $500 to sponsor a junior camper.

"So far, we really haven't had to turn children away," Children's Heart Foundation Executive Director Shannon Bentham said. "However, money is tight."

The nonprofit group's donations from corporations have plummeted in the last year, and some of the key donated services for this summer's camp have pulled out.

"We don't ever want to charge kids to go," Bentham said. "I can't think of a better way to spend your time and money. It's about helping a kid in the purest form."

Camp Mend-a-Heart is five days of fun and activities to challenge campers physically, emotionally and mentally. They navigate obstacle courses, balance their way across high beams, attend a carnival, play water sports, take various art classes and sing around a campfire each night. Campers also attend a massive birthday party for the entire camp, and each child receives a gift.

Four local nurses from the Children's Heart Center volunteer to keep the campers going all week. Most of the Camp Mend-a-Heart kids cannot attend other camps due to their medical conditions. Many are on medications and cannot be in high altitude or take part in vigorous activities.

"Most of these children, their whole life they've been labeled sick," Bentham said. "We do everything we can to provide a true camp experience for them."

Brooke said her favorite part of camp is the water sports.

"I can wear a two-piece suit and show my scar," said Brooke, a sixth-grader at Cashmen Middle School, 4622 W. Desert Inn Road. "It's fun there. I want to go every year."

Before Brooke attended camp, she was timid to do much outdoors and carefully selected her clothes to hide the scars on her chest. Now, as her mother puts it, she thinks she's invincible.

"The doctors gave her boundaries from the start, and I just didn't believe in them," Scott said. "So, I don't give her boundaries, either. Now she knows she is no different than anybody else."

The Children's Heart Foundation was founded in 2001 by local pediatric cardiologists and the families of children with heart problems.

Aside from Camp Mend-a-Heart, the foundation funds parent and teen support groups, family picnics, scholarship programs and an annual pediatric heart conference.

Contact Southeast and Southwest View reporter Danielle Nadler at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 224-5524.