Chico baby second youngest to get heart transplant at Stanford
That's how long it might take to get a donor heart for little Mackenzie who was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy at the age of 3 months.
Mackenzie, it turned out, didn't have to wait 10 months for a transplant. It took just 29 days before the parents of a child about a year old decided to donate their dying child's heart.
Now Mackenzie is just over 14 months old, weighs almost 15 pounds, and is catching up on life after her transplant July 7, 2009 at Stanford University's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. According to her parents, she is the second youngest baby to undergo a heart transplant at the hospital.
She started life Feb. 19, 2009 as a preemie, delivered by C section at Mercy Hospital in Sacramento after her mother developed preeclampsia, a dangerous, sudden rise in blood pressure. Although Mackenzie's heart rate was up and down, "she came out breathing on her own and no health problems," her mother recalled. Newborn Mackenzie weighed under five pounds when she was sent home to Chico. "Everything seemed fine," her mother said.
As weeks went by, things began to change. During a pediatric visit in Chico, a doctor noticed the skin below the baby's ribs was "pulling," meaning there was trouble with her breathing. Her little hands and feet felt cold to the touch. She was admitted to Enloe Medical Center for tests. After five days, she was airlifted to the pediatric care unit at Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento.
Her parents were informed their baby had idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that impairs the heart's ability to efficiently pump blood. The ability of a ventricle to pump is called an ejection fraction. Weak children's hearts can have a ejection fraction of 30 to 40 percent; Mackenzie's was just eight percent.
"No one knew if it was from a virus, if she was born with it or if it happened later," Sue Peterson said.
After six days, doctors at Sutter Memorial made the decision to send the family to Stanford Medical Center, for a possible transplant. There, the tiny baby was placed on a mix of machines and drugs to help her heart pump better, with beta blockers, and aspirin to thin her blood.
Her parents knew Mackenzie wouldn't be going home again until after she received a transplant. They packed up their Chico home with help from friend Theresa Perry, and moved into the Ronald McDonald House near the hospital. They were told it might take up to 10 months to get a heart for a baby-sized donor, which by then might be too late.
"Some of them never get off the list. They pass away," Jason Peterson said.
The Petersons met in 1995 through their college debate clubs. She was a student at Chico State University; he attended Bakersfield College. They married in 2003. Sue Peterson teaches in the communication department at Chico State and coaches the debate team. Jason works with a high school debate team at St. Mark's School in Texas.
At Stanford, 29 days later when Sue Peterson found out that grieving parents had decided to donate their child's heart, she made the call to Jason, who was lab leader at a summer debate camp in Michigan. He arrived to the hospital the next morning after Mackenzie had gone into surgery.
Although delicate and complicated, the surgery went quickly. Mackenzie's recovery has gone well, except for two bouts with rejection that have been treated with medication. Despite her small size, Mackenzie is learning words and started crawling three weeks ago. The Petersons know how lucky they are that Mackenzie's wait for a heart was a short one.
"It's really tragic to think that another child died," Sue Peterson said with emotion catching her voice, "but a donor's heart saved my daughter's life."
CHICO — It's something that most parents don't want to think about, but there is a need for donor organs from youngsters and babies.
The Peterson family found that out in July of 2009 when their 4 1/2-month-old daughter Mackenzie was diagnosed with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and needed a new heart.
Mackenzie's mother, Sue Peterson, said it's important for parents to make the decision to donate a child's organs ever before there's an emergency.
"Just making those decisions when it's not dire, it's more likely people will do those things," she said.
Peterson volunteers for the California Transplant Donor Network, an educational effort to supply materials to parents as well as doctors' offices, hospitals and the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Parents can find out more by going to www.donatelifecalifornia.org or http://organdonor.gov.
Tiny organs needed, too
CHICO — It's something that most parents don't want to think about, but there is a need for donor organs from youngsters and babies.
The Peterson family found that out in July of 2009 when their 4 1/2-month-old daughter Mackenzie was diagnosed with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and needed a new heart.
Mackenzie's mother, Sue Peterson, said it's important for parents to make the decision to donate a child's organs ever before there's an emergency.
"Just making those decisions when it's not dire, it's more likely people will do those things," she said.
Peterson volunteers for the California Transplant Donor Network, an educational effort to supply materials to parents as well as doctors' offices, hospitals and the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Parents can find out more by going to www.donatelifecalifornia.org or http://organdonor.gov.
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