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6-Year-Old Dies Waiting For New Heart

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A sad update to a story WJZ has been following for some time now. The little girl in need of a new heart has died.

Jessica Kartalija has more.

The family of 6-year-old Teresa Bartlinski say she died Monday after an unsuccessful attempt to implant an artificial heart.

Teresa was born in China with a congenital heart disease that weakened her lungs. She received a heart transplant June 18 but her body rejected that heart.

The artificial heart was intended to be a bridge until a second donor heart was available.

Just before she died, Teresa asked to have her ears pierced.

In a blog post, her family said, "At 3:23 pm on July 1st, Teresa has ridden her princess bike into Heaven to meet Jesus. She had her ears pierced shortly before her last breath. While we were not there when she took her first breath, God blessed us to be there when she took her last."

She was being treated at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

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