When Cewanda Todd was 19-weeks pregnant, she was told her unborn daughter had a heart condition.
“Our doctors told us that she wouldn’t make it,” Cewanda said. “We chose to continue the pregnancy anyway. It was in God’s hands.”
Kendall Todd was born with hypoplastic right heart syndrome, a rare heart defect where the right side of the heart is underdeveloped. It has also kept her left lung from developing, which makes taking deep breaths and speaking a challenge.
Before the age of four, Kendall had experienced four open heart surgeries, cardiac arrest and a stroke which impacted the left side of her body, including her left hand.
“Three years ago, she started to get more tired,” her mother said. “The doctors told us she may need a heart and a lung transplant.”
The Todds were referred to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, which specializes in pediatric organ transplants. For over two years they traveled five hours away from their home in Auburn Hills for doctors to evaluate Kendall. The transplant team decided she didn’t need a lung at the time due to the risks it would have on her health, but Kendall still needed a heart transplant.
“We had just started talking about getting a heart transplant in Pittsburgh and we realized we didn’t have any support there,” Cewanda said. “It would just be me, my husband and Kendall. We wouldn’t have anyone there to help us out and just be supportive. We needed that.”
They decided to take Kendall to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor to be closer to the support they needed from their friends, family and neighbors. Kendall was quickly put on the organ transplant waiting list. By that time she needed to be monitored by the hospital for her breathing and circulation issues. She was admitted to the hospital in August of 2024 and just three weeks later, thanks to the generosity of a donor family, she received her heart transplant.
“It was just so fast, it blew our minds,” Cewanda said. “I was in complete shock. They said her new heart was beautiful. We were so excited for her.”
At just 15-years-old, Kendall has experienced so much. She’s now back home, currently going through physical therapy to get her body stronger to help with daily activities and reverse the effects the stroke had on her left hand.
“Even with all the surgeries she’s had, she doesn’t complain,” her mother proudly shares. “She’s a warrior. She gives us so much hope.”
The Todds continue to receive love and support from their family and friends as Kendall rehabilitates.
“People may think providing dinner is small, but it is so major,” Cewanda shared. “When you don’t have to plan dinner, that is one of the best gifts you can get. Our neighbors have walked our dog, taken out our trash. Our church family has stepped in to help. It has just been an outpour of love and support in all kinds of forms. Everyone is invested in Kendall and watching her succeed.”
The Todds are also extremely grateful for another family that helped Kendall, her donor family.
“Every time I would look at her in the hospital, I thought, when they say it’s a gift, that’s exactly what it is,” her mother shared. “I can’t explain it any other way. I wrote a letter and had Kendall sign it, shortly after her transplant. I understand that families might not reach out, and I get that, but I wanted to let them know about her and the thanks we all have. We are so grateful for them, because they didn’t have to donate. They chose to.”
Thanks to the selfless decision of her donor, and the love and support of her community, Kendall is on the road to recovery.
More than 2,500 patients in Michigan are waiting for a lifesaving transplant. To join the 4.6 million Michigan residents who have made their decision to become organ, eye and tissue donors known, visit golm.org/signup.
