Construction Workers Bond with 4-Year-Old Waiting for Heart Transplant #LoveYourHeart

Original Description

Every day around 3 p.m., a group of construction workers makes one last stop before heading home. They climb to a floor of a building under construction next to Cleveland Clinic Children’s and wave, forming heart shapes toward a hospital window. On the other side, 4‑year‑old Brinley Wyczalek waits for them — sending hand‑shaped hearts back in return.

What began as a brief exchange of flashlight signals has grown into a meaningful ritual between Brinley, her family, and the workers building our new Neurological Institute.

The connection started one evening in January after Brinley had spent weeks in the hospital. While playing with her parents, her father, Travis, shined a flashlight toward the neighboring construction site. “To our surprise, someone flashed a light right back at us,” says her mother, Berlyn.

Days later, workers taped a sign facing Brinley’s room that read, “Get Well Soon.” The family responded with one of their own: “Thank you. Waiting for a heart.” Soon another message appeared: “Praying for you and your family. Keep fighting.”

Among the first to help turn the interaction into something more was Devan Nail, a union carpenter with OCP Contractors. “We build hospitals to help people heal,” he said. “But seeing Brinley made it personal. We wanted her to know she has a whole crew behind her.”

The workers later organized donations for Brinley, including coloring books, games, a signed hard hat, and a stuffed bear twice her size.

Brinley was born healthy, but at age 2, doctors discovered her heart had been severely weakened following a combination of viruses. She has been hospitalized at Cleveland Clinic Children’s for more than 100 days and received a Berlin Heart — a device that helps pump blood through the body while she waits for a heart transplant.

“Healing isn’t only physical,” says Dr. Shahnawaz Amdani, Brinley’s pediatric cardiologist. “Human connection matters deeply.”

Brinley remains supported by her family, medical team, and a group of construction workers who pause each day —a reminder that kindness matters.🫶

“All of this started with a flashlight,” Berlyn says. “And it’s shown us that even in the hardest moments, there’s so much good.” #LoveYourHeart