When it came time to blow out his candles on his 14th birthday, Estefano Reano had only one wish: a new heart. Just 40 minutes later, the Pediatric Heart Transplant team at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital surprised his family with a phone call that made his wish come true making the Weston teen the hospital’s 30th heart transplant recipient.
Today, he is the living legacy of a donor family who gave this pediatric heart transplant patient with a gift of a new life with his family, physicians and medical staff and in time to go home for the holidays.
“I am so happy to be here and I am so thankful to everyone,” said Estefano. “I want to do many things like travel and I want to one day run a sanctuary for endangered animals. I thank the family for giving someone like me a second chance to live the life that I always wanted.”
Estefano was born with a structural heart condition known as single ventricle heart defect. This is a condition where the heart is not using all four chambers to function normally. Estefano underwent five open heart surgeries since the age of 2 which allowed his heart to function better and sustain him until he began to get older. A few years ago, his heart began to fail and the team assessed the need to put him on the transplant list.
“Estefano waited over two years for his heart,” said Maryanne R. K. Chrisant, M.D., Director, Pediatric Cardiac Transplant, Heart Failure & Cardiomyopathy at JDCH. “He and his family realize that receiving a heart transplant is a second chance for Estefano to lead a more normal life. Estefano is looking forward to returning to school, going out to play athletics and being outside with his friends. His successful course and future dreams coincide with our 30th transplant celebration.”
“As the pediatric heart transplant team here at Joe DiMaggio, we have had the privilege to care for 30 children and provide them with an opportunity for a new life. That is truly an amazing and humbling feeling,” said Frank Scholl, M.D. Surgical Director of Heart Transplantation at JDCH. “At this time and with this great joy, we need to remember to thank our donor families who have given the ultimate gift to another human being. We simply could not do this without them.”
For more info, visit www.jdch.com.
