A mother’s heartfelt thanks for giving her daughter a new life

Ciara with big brother, Nikko, and mom, Christine

At Texas Children’s Hospital, our specialists treat children from all over the world, providing the most up-to-date therapies available for even the most serious conditions.  Families have come to know that for children who need a second chance at life, this is the place to be.

Most new parents do not even consider the possibility that their child may be born with a heart problem. The reality, however, is that each year in the United States, thousands of infants struggle from their first breath to overcome serious heart defects that may affect them for the rest of their lives.

Ciara was one of those infants, and the care she received at Texas Children’s Hospital saved her life.  Ciara’s mother, Christine, recently sent us the letter below and asked us to share it with our donors:

I want to let you know the difference your support makes for children like my precious Ciara by sharing with you how she is doing today. When Ciara was not even 4-months-old, she had a heart transplant. I never would have imagined that a heart transplant was possible for a baby. What Texas Children’s did is truly remarkable.

No one else could have saved her. I never thought I would be able to see Ciara graduate from college, get married or start a family of her own. Today, Ciara is almost 3- years- old and so full of energy, running, jumping and barely taking a break to catch her breath.

Ciara’s energy level is even more astounding because she has just been diagnosed with transplant coronary artery disease. Before Ciara’s heart transplant, her doctors explained to us that most heart transplant patients develop this disease, but it is generally years later. She is now on medication. In all likelihood, Ciara will have another transplant.

It means so much to have Ciara in our lives. I feel so blessed to have her. Every day I tell her how much I love her. She loves playing outside with her big brother, Nikko. She tries to boss him around, and Nikko is so gentle and patient with her. Ciara is always laughing and smiling and singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

Texas Children’s, and wonderful supporters like you, gave Ciara a second chance at life. I know Texas Children’s will give her a third. We can never thank you and the amazing surgeons and doctors at Texas Children’s enough.

From our family to yours,

Christine, Nikko and Ciara

As you can see your support truly does make a difference—for our patients and their families. To find out how you can support Texas Children’s Hospital, visit www.texaschildrens.org/donate.

For more information about the Texas Children’s Heart Center and our Heart Transplant Program, visit http://www.texaschildrens.org/carecenters/heart/.

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Our purpose is simple – heal sick children. We invite you to join us.
Visit: www.healsickchildren.org.

Buying Time

The Berlin Heart

by Sandra Bretting

At the end of a gravel road in the rural town of Cut and Shoot, Texas, lives a little girl who owes her life to a machine invented half a world away. Without the device—called the Berlin Heart—Leanny Rodriguez never would have survived long enough to have a heart transplant at Texas Children’s Hospital.

Leanny’s story began in July 2008, when she was born at a Galveston hospital weighing a healthy seven pounds, 10 ounces. Her mother didn’t suspect anything was wrong until the baby gradually stopped drinking formula and became increasingly fussy. By October of that year, Leanny was eating half what she did as a newborn and her caramel cheeks had paled.

“Eating is exercise for newborns, but if they have heart problems they can become so weak it takes them an hour or two just to finish a bottle,” said David Morales, M.D., a congenital heart surgeon at Texas Children’s. “Five or six years ago, approximately a third of all children like Leanny would have died before we would have had a chance to perform a heart transplant.”

On October 22, 2008, Leanny was airlifted to Texas Children’s and doctors diagnosed cardiomyopathy—which meant her heart muscle was congenitally weakened and abnormal.  The cherubic toddler with curly black hair desperately needed a new heart, but doctors feared she wouldn’t live long enough for them to find a suitable donor.

“The Berlin Heart allows us to bridge children to a heart transplant,” Morales said. “It not only allows them to live, but hopefully rehabilitate and flourish—just like Leanny did—until a new heart becomes available.” 

When a Berlin Heart is implanted, it takes over the function of the damaged heart—pumping blood to the body and/or the lungs, as needed.

On the morning of December 2, 2008, Leanny became the eleventh child at Texas Children’s to receive a Berlin Heart. Little did anyone know she would need to remain on the device—and in the hospital—for five months.

 “The longest a child has been on a Berlin Heart is about 500 days,” Morales said. “While it’s designed to be temporary, these types of devices are going to be a viable way to help children permanently who need a heart transplant, since there are too few donors to go around.”

Soon, a suitable heart donor was found for Leanny and she underwent an 11-hour heart transplant at Texas Children’s. Following three weeks of recovery back in the cardiovascular intensive care unit, the toddler finally was able to go home.

“Because of the Berlin Heart, we were able to put Leanny’s new heart into a healthy environment, not a damaged environment,” Morales said. “And that makes all the difference in the world.”

Read the full article in Shine Magazine online

Check out Cardiac Cup, our upcoming event on May 16, benefitting Texas Children’s Heart Center.

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Our purpose is simple – heal sick children. We invite you to join us.Visit: www.healsickchildren.org.