KATV Channel 7 - The Spirit of Arkansas: Owensville girl confronts heart complications at ACH

Layla Rose Tolar is a 7-year-old blonde-haired girl from Owensville, about 15 miles from Benton, near Hot Springs Village.

This girl, who said she is a red rose "because I am sweet" as she put down her head with a confident smile and continued to pick at her fuzzy heart doll, is like a lot of girls her age. She loves to draw and is gifted with arts and craft activities; her favorite food is grilled shrimp; she loves to sing; her favorite celebrity is singer/actor Justin Bieber; and she misses all her friends from school and church. Layla's mom points out that there used to be a singing Justin Bieber doll on an IV pole, but it was taken down recently.

"She said we can't take the singing Justin Bieber anymore because I push his belly button and make him sing too much," Mandy Tolar said with a laugh. "And I embarrass her when I dance to it."

Layla sighed a soft "yes," snickered softly and hid her face momentarily behind the fuzzy large purple heart. For most of the interview with The Saline Courier, Layla was quiet, but her eyes lighted up when she talked about her four dogs at home — Cooper, Sassy, Barney and Bubba. She also smiled and nodded "yes" when asked if she has enjoyed spending extra time with her mom, 5-year-old sister Harley Ray and dad Jim.

Click here to read the rest of Layla's story on bentoncourier.com