Sports and Life Lessons Collide at World Transplant Games

Brock and Connor recently returned from the 2013 World Transplant Games in South Africa By Brock Marvin  “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” This is what I told myself every single day that I battled severe dilated cardiomyopathy. And the phrase stayed with me for the months after my eventual heart transplant at Boston Children’s Hospital Heart Transplant Program in 2010. I always had plenty of faith that there were happier, healthier days ahead; I just needed to work a little harder than most teenagers to get there. But I wasn’t alone in the battle. Months after my transplant, my brother, Connor, was diagnosed with the same heart condition. Like me, he dealt with the disease and his eventual heart transplant with a positive and determined attitude. In a two-year span, we were both diagnosed with a serious heart condition, underwent heart transplant, and came out on top—healthier than ever. To read more about the Marvin brothers’ back-to-back heart transplants, access their story here. Now, I’m a starting goalkeeper for the men’s soccer program at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia. Connor, now a senior at Matanzas High School, is starting on the varsity golf team. Since our transplants, our opportunities have been unlimited, and we’ve had so many successes in life thanks to the incredible gifts of life we both received at Boston Children’s. And while we’re thankful for every opportunity w...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: All posts Our patients’ stories Sports & exercise Teen health congenital heart defect Elizabeth Blume heart transplant Pediatric Transplant Center (PTC) Source Type: news