A six-year-old boy couldn’t wait to tell everyone about his new donor heart after being on the transplant list for six months, beaming with pride in a touching new video.
John-Henry Lee of Ohio was born with a rare heart condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is a rare birth defect in which part of the infant’s heart is underdeveloped, making it difficult for the left side of the heart to pump enough blood to the rest of the body. About one in every 3,841 babies born in the U.S. each year is diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At just 5 days old, he underwent open heart surgery at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital.
In the next few years, he underwent three more operations, but they were unsuccessful and his heart began to fail. A heart transplant became his only option and he joined the transplant list in December 2023.
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John-Henry Lee.
Cleveland Clinic
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In May, John-Henry received the exciting news that a donor heart was finally available to him.
In a sweet video released by the Cleveland Clinic, John-Henry is captured walking the hospital corridors with an IV line smiling as he shares the news with his caregivers and hospital staff.
“I will get a new heart!” he shouted with a big smile, alongside mother Sarah Lee and little brother Marcus.
Staff members congratulated the 6-year-old with hugs and high fives. The next day, John-Henry underwent a heart transplant and was later discharged in July to recuperate at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital for Rehabilitation.
After undergoing life-saving surgery, he told the hospital he couldn’t wait to tell everyone at school, “I have a new heart!”
“Organ donation saved my son’s life,” Sarah told the hospital. “Without that, he wouldn’t be alive now. We will take great care of this special heart and are forever grateful to our donor and their family.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education