‘I'm Getting a New Heart!’: 6-Year-Old's Joyful Announcement Ahead of Surgery

A 6-year-old child couldn’t help but tell the several caretakers who supported him throughout his protracted hospital stay that he would be receiving a new heart. It took six months for John-Henry and his family to get the word that they would be getting a life-saving heart transplant. In the video posted by Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital, the boy—who had a heart defect from birth—is heard exclaiming, “I’m getting a new heart,” with enthusiasm.

John-Henry gathered his mom, his 2-year-old brother and his IV pole to joyfully march down the hallways and inform everyone that he had received the happy news. The heart donor was finally available in May.

“Phyllis, I’m getting a new heart!”, in the video, John-Henry greets one of the staff members with enthusiasm.

“Hey!” He exclaims, “I’m getting a new heart!” to a staff member, who excitedly gives him a high five.

Watch the video here:

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome, or HLHS, is a rare congenital ailment that John-Henry was born with, according to Cleveland Clinic Children’s.

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, HLHS affects blood flow through the heart and arises when the left side of the heart fails to develop appropriately during pregnancy.

As a result, the right side of the heart is overworked since it must pump blood to the various parts of the body.

“When the transplant coordinator said they found his special heart, I immediately broke down,” Sarah Lee, John-Henry’s mom told Cleveland Clinic.

She added, “I walked in the room teary-eyed to tell John-Henry, and when I told him, he said, ‘I have to go tell everybody.’”

As per Sarah, John-Henry underwent his first open-heart surgery at the age of five days after being hospitalised in the paediatric intensive care unit after birth.

Before he had turned one year old, John-Henry had his second open heart surgery, according to the hospital.

When the kid is four years old or older, the third operation is performed. The right ventricle took on more work as a result of the three surgeries, but it wasn’t enough for John-Henry.

The hospital stated that as John-Henry began to develop cardiac failure, medical professionals concluded that a heart transplant was his only viable option.

In December 2023, the child was added to the transplant waiting list, and he and his family found out they had a match in May 2024.

The day following his announcement to his friends about his fortunate match, John-Henry had heart transplant surgery. Dr Hani Najm, a paediatric and congenital cardiac surgeon, headed the team that carried out the procedure.

John-Henry was sent to Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital for Rehabilitation in July following his transplant procedure. On August 23, he was released from the hospital to resume his recovery at home.