Maverick’s story: Advances in medical management of pediatric heart failure

In recent years, the Boston Children’s Hospital Heart Failure team has made significant strides in slowing the progress of heart failure in children. In some cases, disease progression has been slowed enough for the patient to be taken off of the heart transplant list for being “too well.” The following is part two of a four-part series featuring Heart Center patients who were once listed for transplant but were removed thanks to successful medical management of his or her heart disease. Maverick’s story Maverick Chenkus was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a very serious heart condition in which the left side of the heart is underdeveloped. Soon after birth, Maverick had his first open-heart surgery but then developed heart failure. He spent his first 8 months fighting for his life at a hospital near his home in New York. Doctors there told his parents, Nikki and Charlie, their son would need a heart transplant in order to survive. But the doctors refused to place Maverick on the heart transplant list. “They said Maverick just wasn’t going to make it,” says Nikki. “I only believed it for about a day. Then I thought, no, this is not how this kid’s story is going to end.” Nikki and Charlie embarked on a fierce campaign to fight for their son’s life. They contacted Boston Children’s, and the Heart Center welcomed Maverick as a patient. Caring for Maverick’s HLHS  When Maverick came to Boston Children’s, he was dependent on such ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Heart conditions Heart Center heart failure heart transplant Source Type: news