North Texas

Hallie's Heroes Team Up to Find Girl's Bone Marrow Match With New Video

A special little girl from Denton is trying to find her own bone marrow match to cure a rare disease.

She teamed up with the Fort Worth police and fire departments to raise awareness through a new video that will get you up and dancing along!

When Hallie Barnard walks in a room, she owns it.

"Hallie's going to tell you a couple of things. She wrote a little thing," said Fort Worth firefighter Shane Harmon while introducing Hallie to a crowd of firefighters.

"I didn't write anything," Hallie fired back.

In her eight short years, she's learned to stand up for herself.

"Martin Luther King Jr. once said life's most persistent and urgent question is what are you doing for others? I ask you today, what are you doing for others? Please give the gift of life and second chances," Hallie told the crowd.

Her mission is to raise awareness of the need for bone marrow donors. Hallie needs one. She can't produce red blood cells, because of a rare disease called Diamond Blackfan Anemia.

She's found allies in her fight in the Fort Worth police and fire departments.

"Fell in love with her instantly," said Fort Worth Police Officer Brandi Kamper.

Police and firefighters are helping spread the word with a new viral video that gets the best of Fort Worth in on the act.

Now it's in the running to make it on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

"She might call us and be like, 'Hallie, why don't you come up to blah, blah, blah, I would love to see you,'" Hallie said.

Kamper is Hallie's co-star and good buddy.

"You're kind of an old soul," Kamper told Hallie.

"I am?" she responded.

"Yeah. You're super articulate for an 8-year-old," Kamper said.

"I am? I like sushi," Hallie replied.

But through the laughter, there's a serious message.

"It frustrates me because we spend, as a country, so little money on research and trying to figure out what exactly we're dealing with," Kamper said.

Hallie's disease is under control for now.

"She's stable, she's able to advocate for herself and go out there, but there's going to be a time when she's not and this is kind of our family's way of paying it forward, because when that time comes, we're going to be able to fix it," said her mom, Elyse Barnard.

They do it knowing that every cheek swabbed could lead to the one match that saves Hallie's future.

"You feel that need as if it was your own child," Harmon said.

"I may not be able to change the world, but maybe I can change Hallie's world," Kamper added.

And they're doing that by showing the world her message.

MORE: See more information about Hallie's Heroes, including how to register to be a bone marrow donor or donate to the blood disorder organization DKMS.

Watch Hallie's video here to help get her on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

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