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Our Kids - Meet David

David spent 13 years living with his heart condition before doctors at SickKids needed to take drastic measures and provide David with a new heart.

David

David, 13, Heart condition

At three months old, David’s parents rushed him to The Hospital for Sick Children where doctors found he suffered from dilated cardiomyopathy. This literally means “heart muscle disease” and causes the heart to function poorly. Luckily, David’s condition began to improve and his doctors sent him home.

While David was monitored by the SickKids cardiology team, he spent the next 13 years as an active child attending school regularly, playing baseball and participating on his school volleyball team. In the summer of 2008, everything changed for 13-year-old David.

A regular follow up at the heart function clinic at SickKids showed that David’s heart looked enlarged. Tests revealed the mitral valve on the left side of his heart had begun leaking. David began taking additional medication but his medical team soon discovered he needed mitral valve surgery.

David underwent the open heart surgery but unfortunately his organs began to fail and his heart weakened to the point that it could not supply adequate blood to his body. In order to survive, David needed a heart transplant.

Until a new heart became available, the team at SickKids placed David on an artificial heart known as the Berlin Heart. A mere five days later, a donor heart became available and David underwent this third surgery.

Currently David is back in school and is getting into shape by using a treadmill, lifting weights and attending physiotherapy. He returns to SickKids every couple of weeks for follow up. His family expresses an immense amount of gratitude for the support, expertise and kindness displayed by David’s medical team. His family believes David was given a second chance at life, which would not have been possible without SickKids.

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