Boy Born With ‘Half a Heart’ Gets a Lifesaving Transplant

Wendy Wees experienced a miscarriage when she was pregnant with her and husband, Jason Protiva's first child; thus, they were overjoyed when it was already past their ninth week in her second pregnancy.

After her 20 weeks of appointment, Jason and Wendy found out they were having a baby boy. However, the doctor detected something else on the sonogram. Their unborn baby had a severe heart condition.

Reports on the condition said further tests showed the boy would be born with "essentially half a heart." Specifically, he had "hypoplastic left heart syndrome" or HLHS, a condition where the heart's left side is underdeveloped.

According to doctors, the then-unborn baby boy would need to undergo three operations before he turns five years old, the first performed right after delivery.

Jason and Wendy decided to name their child "something really strong and meaningful" and opted for Abel Falcon. More so, they opted to concentrate on the positive. They were happy to have insurance, and there was something that could be done for their baby.

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(Photo: Pixabay)
Boy born with ‘half a heart’ receives a life-saving transplant.

The 1st Surgery

Wendy recalled they tried to think for the best and began to look at all survivors and how a 30-year-old woman was with HLHS.

This mother also shared, she knew "that transplant was the end game," although those three operations are "supposed to allow that to not be necessary until later on in life.

When Abel was Abel was born, his color was normal; instead of the blue or grey skin tone, his parents were told he might appear.

Prior to his first operation at six days old, each of the couples could hold him skin-to-skin. Wendy said that was when it all really hit them.

"This is serious," she added, and if he survives, they knew it was going to be a miracle. Jason and Wendy took the baby home 29 days after. They spent one month closely observing "his oxygen saturation levels," taking his body temperature, having his feedings documented, weighing his diapers, and having his numerous oral medications administered.

Abel's mother also said he did not sleep well. But since he was a baby, they did not think there was any problem with their child until when they returned to the doctor for his first-month checkup. They were informed about the heart failure detected in the child.

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Abel's Readmission to the Hospital

His doctors decided to readmit Abel to the hospital, but he was very weak and small to bear the next operation. All his family could do; the mother shared, was wait.

As indicated in reports on Abel's condition, his family camped out on the hospital's upper floor and took turns staying with the boy.

One evening, Jason had Abel, who was three months old, then, dancing in his bed. The father dozed off, too, with the baby.

Recalling the incident, Jason said he woke up to the baby "really laboring to breathe." He called the nurse in, and in a few minutes, Jason continued, "he coded." The doctors entered and began doing "chest compressions," Abel's father continued, adding, "And it was just chaos."

For 15 minutes, they continued CPR before the until his surgeon, who had just performed a surgery, entered. Since there were no operating rooms available at that time, he reportedly placed Abel "on maximum life support" inside his hospital room.

The boy's family was told he would need to "come off the heart-lung machine" before including him on the list of patients for transplant.

Almost one month after, Abel received his new heart that was taken from a 15-month old girl from Kansas who, based on reports, had been electrocuted at a local carnival. The moment the girl's heart was placed in the chest of Abel, his body immediately accepted it.

Three years after the transplant, Abel is still unable to take all the medications and calories on his own. Therefore, he still uses a feeding tube. He may have had a little delayed speech, but this boy's dad still calls him "a little firecracker."

In 2018, Abel was 'prince' at the Nebraska Heart Ball of the American Heart Association and shared the moment with the event's 'sweetheart,' Kaya Koraleski, his half-sister.

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