Little Firefighter Warrior and BFFs Heart Journey

Chapter 4

Hot shot was now at Texas Children's hospital once again. But this time it was because his heart was starting to fail and he needed a new heart. Hot shot was going to need a lot of care. Hot shot was wondering what to expect from his heart transplant and he was kind of nervous about it. He was wondering what they were going to do when does happen. He was also wondering a lot about the donor family. He was wondering about a lot of things. He was also thinking about many things too. He was hoping everything was going to turn out alright for him.

Hot shot was going to have to be in the hospital for a while. He was going to stay there while waiting for his heart transplant. It was hard to be patient for it. Hot shot was wondering when it was going to happen. He was very worried and scared about it. He hoped it was going to happen very soon.

Hot shot was wondering about many things. Hot shot saw Dr. Adachi come in. He had done heart transplants before so he was going to do Hot shot's. 

"Good morning Hot shot," Dr. Adachi said.

"Good morning," Hot shot said.

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

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

"Okay I will try to answer them," Dr. Adachi 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. Adachi said. "But other donations need to be made when someone had died," he explained. "But remember someone chose to give you their child's heart," he 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. Adachi said. "The wait time can range from a few days, to a few weeks, to several months, to over a year," he said. "So it is hard to say when the heart that is right for you will come in," he 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. Adachi 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," he 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," he 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," he 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. Adachi 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. Adachi 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. Adachi 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. Adachi 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. Adachi 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." he said. "Once you are older you will be able to take more of the medications by yourself," he said.

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

"Yes you will," Dr. Adachi said. "But there will be some changes and stuff but you can still live a very normal life after transplant," he 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. Adachi said. "Many donor families and recipients form close bonds and become good friends with each other," he 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. Adachi said. "But some people their transplants last for 20 years or more depending on how they take care of it," he 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. 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.