Latest news with #hearttransplant
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Bride Meets Boy Who Received Her Late Son's Heart and Listens to His Heartbeat Before Walking Down the Aisle (Exclusive)
Kaci Wilson had a very special guest at her wedding last month: the 7-year-old boy who received her late son's heart On April 18, 2023, Wilson's car was hit by a truck. Two of her boys survived, but son Myles Godfrey, suffered a traumatic brain injury and died Before walking down the aisle, she also got to hear her late son's heartbeat again — the 7-year-old boy's parents even brought a stethoscopeTwo years ago, one of Kaci Wilson's three kids died when a truck stuck her minivan. Last month, she met the boy who received her son's heart in person for the first time on her wedding day. Saleh Ahmad, 7, was a surprise guest at Wilson's wedding on May 25, 2025 — and together with Wilson's dad, the boy walked her down the aisle. 'It was a very, very, very sweet moment,' Wilson, a 24-year-old stay at home mother who lives in Andrews, N.C., tells PEOPLE. Before she walked down the aisle, the boy's parents asked the bride if she wanted to hear her son's heartbeat again. They even brought a stethoscope. 'It was just so heartwarming,' Wilson says. 'It definitely was the closest I felt to him since the accident.' On April 18, 2023, Wilson picked up her 4-year-old twin boys from preschool then drove to her mother's house to pick up her 1-year-old son. Pulling into the driveway at her home in Hayesville, a truck going 60 miles per hour hit Wilson's 2023 Kia Carnival. Two of Wilson's three boys survived, but one of her twins, Myles Godfrey, suffered a traumatic brain injury and died — but through organ donation, he saved the lives of several other children, including Saleh. Shortly after the accident, a mutual friend connected Wilson with the family of the little boy who received her son's heart. The families talked online and on the phone, but never met face-to-face until Wilson invited them to attend her wedding in Hiawassee, Ga. — a surprise for her friends, family and even the groom, Gavin Wilson, 23. 'The little boy was crying happy tears. He was smiling, he was giving all the hugs and kisses,' Wilson says. 'We were sad, but we were happy, seeing how well the little boy is doing.' Wilson's childhood friend, photographer Brianna Hemphill was on hand to capture the emotional reunion. 'Everyone was so filled with love and joy but also heartbreak. It was a mix of emotions,' Hemphill tells PEOPLE. 'It showed people how short life is, but also how valuable it is when you have it.' Wilson hopes her story will encourage other parents struggling with the decision to donate their child's organs. 'In that moment, you're feeling all the emotions of 'How is this happening to my family? It's not fair. We can't save our kid, but we're going to save somebody else's,' ' she says. One thing that helped her make her decision was thinking about what her son would want. 'I realized, 'Of course he would want to save another person,' " she says. "He was the most kind-hearted, sweet, loving, little boy. So of course he would want to save somebody else if he could.' A GoFundMe was created to raise money for a honeymoon. The newlyweds hope to visit the little boy and his family this summer. As for the future, Wilson says she hopes her children — sons Kyler, 6, and Ryder, 3 — will be able to get to know Saleh more. She hopes building a relationship might even help Kyler grieve his twin. 'He's excited about having another brother,' Wilson says of Kyler. 'He calls him his brother, because he has his heart. Having a piece of him we can talk to whenever we want makes him grieve a lot healthier.' Read the original article on People
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill Clinton Writes Emotional Letter to 8-Year-Old Boy Waiting for Heart Transplant: ‘I Know How Scary It Can Be'
Dáithí Mac Gabhann, 8, received an 'emotional' letter from Bill Clinton that left his "jaw on the floor," according to his dad 'As someone who's had heart surgery myself, I know how scary it can be, and I'm so impressed by the bravery you've shown throughout your life," the former president wrote to the boy Clinton, 78, underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 2004Bill Clinton showed his support for a boy waiting for a heart transplant. Dáithí Mac Gabhann, an 8-year-old who has been waiting for a heart transplant in Ireland since 2018, received a letter from the former president, 78. The Donate4Dáithí fundraising campaign shared the letter, which was dated and signed on May 13, in an Instagram post on May 30. "It's not every day a letter comes through [the] door in Ballymurphy from a former US President… 🩷 #OrganDonation," the caption of the post said. The letterhead read, "William Jefferson Clinton," and the note was typed, although Clinton appeared to have signed his name in ink at the bottom — with a handwritten message that read, "Keep going!" "Dear Dáithí," the letter read. "Your dad wrote to tell me about your recent visit to City Hall to see your name listed among the Freemen of Belfast. I'm so proud to share that honor with someone as amazing as you." Per the Belfast City Council, Dáithí received the Freedom of the City honor in 2023 after his successful campaign to change Northern Ireland's organ donation laws. Meanwhile, Clinton earned the civic honor in 2018 for his peace-building efforts in the country. BBC reported at the time that Dáithí was the youngest person to receive the honor at just 6 years old. "As someone who's had heart surgery myself, I know how scary it can be, and I'm so impressed by the bravery you've shown throughout your life," the letter continued, in reference to Clinton's quadruple bypass in 2004. "I'm also deeply inspired by the way you and your family have worked hard to make positive change across Northern Ireland. Our world would be better if there were more people like you!" "I hope I'll have the chance to meet you and your family next time I'm in Belfast. Until then, keep up your great work, and know that you have a big fan pulling for you in New York," the note concluded. Dáithí's father, Máirtín Mac Gabhann, told BBC that the letter "stopped me in my tracks ... the fact someone like President Clinton took the time to write this letter is amazing." The proud dad said his son had his "jaw on the floor" when he received the letter. "He knew this was big ... he couldn't believe it ... he was even getting a bit emotional about it all," Máirtín said. The letter, according to the father, has given the family momentum as they near their seventh year of waiting for a transplant. "It gave us a much needed boost," he told the British broadcaster. "Dáithí is stable now but this letter has saved the day for us ... as he had been at hospital." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories. Dáithí reached the anniversary date on Sunday, June 1, per Donate4Dáithí. The campaign shared a happy photo of the young boy at a sports stadium while decked out in Liverpool F.C. gear on Instagram to mark the occasion. "7 years on the waiting list for a heart transplant today. Still smiling. Still fighting. Let's see how far this can go for #OrganDonation. Help us keep the message alive," the caption read. Per the Department of Health in Northern Ireland, Dáithi's Law came into effect on June 1, 2023. The law means that adults in Northern Ireland are considered potential organ donors unless they actively opt out or are part of an excluded group. Read the original article on People
CBS News
21-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Lurie Children's Hospital patient awaiting new heart graduates from West Leyden High School in cardiac unit
Taevion Norris is a patient at Lurie Children's Hospital, waiting for a heart transplant, but the hospital and his school made sure he wouldn't miss his high school graduation. Norris is a senior at West Leyden High School in North Lake, and the school brought the graduation ceremony to him Wednesday morning. He donned his cap and gown, and was saluted by doctors, nurses and other families at the hospital during his graduation ceremony in the cardiac care unit. Norris has been at Lurie Children's Hospital since March 11 due to heart failure. His principal at West Leyden High School handed Norris his diploma, and his family was there to celebrate as well.
Medscape
21-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Should Unvaccinated Patients Get Organ Transplants?
This transcript has been edited for clarity. Hi. I'm Art Caplan. I'm the head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU's Grossman School of Medicine in New York City. There is a huge controversy ongoing about Cincinnati Children's Hospital's decision not to put a 12-year-old girl on their heart transplant waiting list. The reason they didn't do it was thatshe has not been vaccinated against the flu and against COVID-19. This has led to a huge, angry backlash, part of the reason being that the young girl's mother, Jeneen Deal, is related by marriage to Vice President JD Vance's half-sibling, so she's part of a celebrity family. The couple — her parents — adopted her from China when she was 4, and they knew at the time that she had heart problems and was going to need a heart transplant. They've always taken her to Cincinnati because they believe that's the best place in their area for her to get care. They've had a long-standing, good relationship with the hospital, and I'm sure they're very angry that now they've got this challenge to getting her waitlisted to receive a heart. Those of you who know the heart transplant field know that for kids, it's tough to get a heart. It's very difficult because there are very few donors. That's partly because many of the donors for adults come from car accidents, gunshots, swimming pool accidents, that sort of thing. Younger children, happily,are not as likely to die in circumstances where they then become cadaver organ donors, so the organs are very scarce. What's going on? Well, the family says they don't want to vaccinate because it's against their religious beliefs. It's hard to know what those religious beliefs are because there are no major religions that oppose major religions — all that I'm familiar with — support vaccination as good for the individual to preserve their health and good for the community. What the hospital is doing in this situation has nothing to do with fights about whether a flu vaccine should be mandated or if schools can require going on here is that when you get a heart transplant, you have to take immunosuppressive drugs immediately and for the rest of your life. They tune down your immune system and make you very vulnerable to infections such as the flu, and they make it very likely that you could die if you got the flu, COVID-19, or other infectious diseases that normally we might be able to survive without getting vaccinated. The hospital is trying to be responsible and say that they don't want her to die if they transplant her. The way to maximize her chance of doing well with the heart is to give her vaccines, which will build up her immune system before they transplant her. That makes good sense to me. It also makes good sense to say that we don't want to waste a scarce heart on someone who's likely to get sick when other people are waiting in the queue — other kids not related to JD Vance — who are vaccinated and will do better. From a moral point of view, we want to steward the supply of scarce hearts responsibly and make sure they go to the child who's going to do the best with the heart and has the best chance at life. I do think it's right to say vaccination, in this instance, is something that the hospital really wants to medically indicated for this girl and anybody else on a waitlist anywhere for a transplant. That's not the same and shouldn't be mixed up with fights about mandatory vaccination to get into school. I think the hospital is asking for the right thing, and I hope that they stick to their guns on this oneand don't let misinformation or misunderstanding get in the way of doing what's best for the girl and doing what's best with the scarce supply of hearts. I'm Art Caplan, at the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Thanks for walking.
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Heart transplant: Woman in seven-month wait in Newcastle hospital
A woman with a life-threatening heart condition has spent seven months in a hospital more than 260 miles away from home as she waits for a Allen, 51, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, was born with two holes in her heart but it was only after she gave birth in 2010 that she was diagnosed with ischaemic dilated was admitted to Newcastle's Freeman Hospital, the UK's leading centre for complex congenital heart conditions, when her condition deteriorated in October."I have already started to look forward to the clanking of the tea trolley on the ward," she said. Ms Allen, a family support worker, said the hardest thing about her hospital stay was being so far away from loved ones. "Living away from home has its own kind of pain, being away from my family and friends - especially my daughter," she said."I feel like I am missing a piece of myself every day. I think of her all the time." The NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) service said 13 people had died waiting for a heart transplant in 2023-24 and there were currently 306 people waiting for a heart-only average waiting time for a heart transplant for those on the non-urgent list is more than nine years, according to this falls to 47 days for those on the urgent list and just 11 days for those on the super-urgent list."There are not enough donated organs which sadly means some people wait years for a transplant or never receive one at all," an NHS spokesperson said."Waiting lists are at their highest level in a decade. "We urge everyone to confirm their decision to be an organ donor on the NHS Organ Donor Register and tell their family they want to save lives." 'Days blur together' Ms Allen said she realised quickly after admission she would need to establish a routine for the sake of her mental wellbeing. The routine includes getting dressed every day, going for a walk for fresh air in the hospital courtyard and writing a daily blog."This has helped me to motivate myself and have a sense of worth," she added that going for medical procedures had become "like a day out". Despite being given her own room with an en-suite and a window, Ms Allen said she often felt claustrophobic."The days blur together," she said. "Sometimes I think about escaping - not far, just far enough to feel like I am somewhere else."But for now, I stay where I am, I wait and I hope." Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
