Heart-aversary: Texas Family Marks Child’s Three-Year Transplant Milestone

Once, Aisha and Blake Fitzsimmons worried they wouldn't see their daughter Eveline reach her third birthday. Eveline required a transplant barely weeks after birth. She was born with a severe cardiac abnormality. She is vibrant three years after getting a new heart.

Eveline's cardiac trip started before birth when physicians found a flaw 22 weeks along. Born early at thirty-three weeks, she was rushed right away to Dallas for specific treatment. When specialists decided a whole transplant was required, initial hopes for a remedial operation lost appeal. She went on the transplant list, and on New Year's Eve, a match at last showed up following months of waiting.

Beginning at 4 p.m., the delicate operation ran until early in the morning. Eveline's parents remember their extreme thanks to the donor's family. "It's difficult to consider what they gave up," Blake stated. We merely know that we are blessed.

Called Eveline's "heart-aversary," the family honors her transplant anniversary with cake and thought each year. They savor the additional time they have been given with their daughter and take time to respect the family of the donor.

Eveline is bursting with life today. She likes gymnastics and superheroes, is a big sister, and finds great delight in childhood's small pleasures. She still needs a feeding tube and speech therapy, but her heart is under close observation, and she keeps growing.

Her parents welcome the unpredictability of life following an organ donation with optimism. Aisha remarked, "Every day her body could reject at any moment." We let her live like a typical child for this reason.

‍