Hot shot the little firefighter and Best Friends Heart Journey

Chapter 3

Hot shot was in Cook Children's hospital. He was going have to stay there for a while. He was there because his heart was failing. Hot shot was born with a heart the didn't work right and for the first five years of his life Hot shot has had several surgeries and cardiac catheterizations to help take care of his heart. Hot shot was going to need a heart transplant now. It was his only option. Hot shot was now apart of the new Cook Children's heart transplant program. Hot shot was hoping he was going to be okay. He was wondering when he was going to get his new heart too. Hot shot was wondering about who's heart he was going to get. He was wondering why someone has to die so he can live. He was having those questions and such. He was thinking about that kind of stuff.

Dr. Horn came into the room the next day. "Good morning Hot shot," Dr. Horn said.

"Good morning," Hot shot said. 

"How are you today?" Dr. Horn asked.

"I'm okay," Hot shot said. "I have some questions," he asked.

"Okay I will try to answer them," Dr. Horn said.

"Why does someone have to die so I can live?" Hot shot asked.

"Hot shot organ donation is never an easy choice for a person or family to make, but it helps save lives, some donations can be done when a person is still alive such as kidneys and part of adult livers," Dr. Horn said. "But other donations need to be made when someone had died," she explained. "But remember someone chose to give you their child's heart," she said.

"Okay," Hot shot said. "But how long do I have to wait for my heart transplant?" he asked.

"Hard to say Hot shot," Dr. Horn said. "The wait time can range from a few days, to a few weeks, to several months, to over a year," she said. "So it is hard to say when the heart that is right for you will come in," she said.

"How do you know if a heart is right for someone?" Hot shot asked.

"It comes down to blood type, size, age and distance," Dr. Horn said. "The donor needs to be the same blood type as the recipient, the size needs to be closest to the recipient, if the heart is too small or too big it won't work that well, so normally the best size heart comes from someone in the same age group," she said. "Also the donor can't be too far from the recipient hospital, because the clock starts ticking on the heart once it is removed from the donor, only a few hours to get it transplanted in the recipient," she said. "Once it is in you will need to stay in the hospital for a few more weeks to monitor you and so you can recover some," she said.

"Will I be able to run without getting tired after my heart transplant?" Hot shot asked.

"Yes you most likely will have more energy and less likely to get out of breathe too soon," Dr. Horn said.

"Will I be able to do sports too?" Hot shot asked.

"Yes there is a chance you can do that you just have be cleared by your medical team first and fully recovered from transplant, which can take 3 to 6 months," Dr. Horn said.

"I will be starting Kindergarten soon will I be able to go?" Hot shot asked.

"Yes, you will need to wait until you are stable from a transplant stand point it will take about three months," Dr. Horn said. 

"Okay," Hot shot said.

"Will I be able to do things like go shopping with my parents and go to the zoo and other fun things?" Hot shot asked.

"Yes you will, but for the first three months you will need to wear a mask to protect you from germs," Dr. Horn said.

"Will I be taking a lot of medicine and how long will I have to take it?" Hot shot asked.

"Yes you will be taking a lot of medicine and some of the medicine you will be taking for the rest of your life," Dr. Horn said. "You will be on a strict medicine schedule, you might even have to take some of your medicine at school when you start going to Kindergarten and through going to school as you grow up." she said. "Once you are older you will be able to take more of the medications by yourself," she said.

"Will I be able to get back to a normal life after transplant?" Hot shot asked.

"Yes you will," Dr. Horn said. "But there will be some changes and stuff but you can still live a very normal life after transplant," she assured him.

"Is it possible to know whose heart I got and meet the family?" Hot shot asked.

"Yes you can learn the name of the child whose heart you received and you can meet their family," Dr. Horn said. "Many donor families and recipients form close bonds and become good friends with each other," she said.

"Will my transplant heart last forever?' Hot shot asked.

"No Hot shot, most transplanted organs last at least 10 years to 20 years, so you might need another transplant when you get older or a couple more times in your life," Dr. Horn said. "But some people their transplants last for 20 years or more depending on how they take care of it," she said.

"Oh okay," Hot shot said.

Hot shot felt better after having his questions answered. Hot shot had many things that needed to be done that day. He had a few check ups with a few of the doctors on his care team. He even had to get the medicine in his IV bag replaced. Hot shot was even able to have some lunch too. Hot shot even got to go to the play room and child life zone. Hot shot was happy to get to spend some time with the other kids in the hospital. 

Hot shot was even able to watch TV and movies in his hospital room. Hot shot was wondering about a lot of things. Hot shot was very curious and loved to make art. He was able to talk about a few things. Hot shot felt better after talking about things. 

While in his hospital room nurses and doctors were coming in and out all day. Hot shot was also taking medicine to prepare him for transplant. Hot shot knew it was going to be sometime most likely before he got his new heart. But he was going to brave when the day came and knew that whoever it was who gave him their heart, their family was full of love.