Hana’s heart transplant is done! It went very smoothly with no surprises. The surgeon told us the new heart is working very well. Hana just came up from the OR and is getting settled in the CVICU. We will get to see her in about 30-45 minutes.
We did see her as she was wheeled out of the elevator.
I am on the brink of very overwhelming emotions.
After we see her we are going to try to SLEEP. Hana will be very sedated for awhile. Tonight they will just let her be. She has a breathing tube and will have it for about 24 hours.
We are so incredibly grateful for this gift of life!
This morning we got the call (a literal wake up call) that they had a matching donor heart for Hana. We were at home. We are in shock. Also, there is still a chance that the transplant might not happen, although it’s slim. But still we are feeling cautious. Actually, I have so many competing emotions it’s hard to know what I feel – many things.
Today they will do some last minute bloodwork – they always check antibodies again to see if anything has changed. If something drastic has changed then they could pass on the heart. They will start an IV. Hana’s feeds have already stopped so have her blood thinning medications. She will be hungry. She also seems to be getting some two year molars. She will be cranky!
Then there is the donor and the donor family. What can you ever say about the loss of a child? Saying is not adequate. We feel instead. The lives of two families are forever changed. We are so grateful. There are no words, not for us or them.
We will keep you posted! Surgery could be as early as late this afternoon.
191 days in the hospital, 172 days post-Berlin Heart, (164) Last Day On The Transplant List!
We were overall pleased with the news segments from Wednesday. I wish they had focused a tad more on the importance of organ donation, but it has been a positive experience. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that the station Abc7 decided to post a link to their segment on Hana. We did get to see it but only when it was broadcast live.
Below is the link to the ktvu (channel 2) station segment on Hana:
http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2016/05/05/doctors-at-packard-childrens-extend-life-of-20-month-olds-failing-heart/
Never, in my lifetime, did I think I’d solicit a news story. But, since it’s about Hana and not about me it wasn’t too hard! I wasn’t really nervous to be on camera, we feel strongly about helping the cause, but if there were a way to tell the story without talking to me I would have liked that! Of course, a big part in this decision to solicit a news story was Hana’s personality. She is such a friendly kid and seems to handle attention well. We felt she would be fine with the cameras (and she was!).
We were really glad to add a message out there on the importance of organ donation! Please help spread the word.
Hana’s cardiologist being interviewed My interview Hana, this morning
168 days in the hospital, 150 days post-Berlin Heart, 142 days on the transplant list.
Today a couple of news stations came to cover a story on Hana. Surprise! We wanted to do this in April, for Donate Life month but the scheduling didn’t work out. The hospital’s media relations organized everything and it included an interview with Hana’s primary heart failure/transplant cardiologist. I’ll post more about the whole experience later, but for now, I just wanted to put the word out for anyone that wants to try to watch. I think you can stream it live and I believe it will at least air on the five o’clock news but likely with additional air time.
Hana's Heart 