Race For Our Kids 2018-Meet Walea Collins

Sinai Super Star Walea Collins, 8, is an all-around happy girl, except for when she has medical scares like the one that first brought her to Sinai Hospital of Baltimore earlier this summer.

Walea was admitted to the emergency room after suddenly blacking out, fainting and suffering memory loss following the installation of a new air conditioning unit in her family's rental home. Her test results initially came back normal. However, when Walea began experiencing chest pain, trouble breathing and a terrible headache and passed out again the very next day, she was rushed back to the Sinai ER. She remained at the hospital for two days so her neurological symptoms could be monitored via a 24-hour electroencephalogram (EEG) conducted by Dr. Yuval Shafrir. Walea only had one episode during her stay, but it was nothing that alarmed her doctor so she was released.

After Walea's entire family began experiencing symptoms similar to (though not as severe as) Walea's, they went to stay with their grandmother in Washington, D.C. to avoid further exposure to harmful elements in the household (Sinai staff determined their symptoms were consistent with CO2 exposure). Thankfully, neither Walea nor her family experienced fainting spells or memory loss after leaving their rental home.

Walea likes lady bugs and eating sweet, juicy watermelon. Her hobbies include dancing, drawing, riding her bike, making stick houses for ants, and playing flag football (she is the fastest player on her co-ed team). She does not like to wear dresses and skirts but has fun doing hair with her friends and sisters. Her favorite subject is math. She wants to do everything in her power to avoid fainting spells and keep her memory as sharp as a tack. Walea adores Dr. Shafrir, who told her that if she ever decided to run for mayor, she'd have his vote.

Walea, her siblings Jamien (13), Kynasia (11) and Sakora (10), and their mom, Tia, are looking forward to participating in the 14th annual Race for Our Kids and celebrating the nurses and doctors at Sinai Hospital. They are thankful for the care Walea received and are eager for her to make a full recovery so she can have a great school year in third grade.