Heart recipient
“We are very lucky to have her healthy, and we are hell-bent on making sure she understands the gift she was given.”
Mother Kelly McLaren
One family facing an unimaginable tragedy in early 2012 made a decision that saved the life of 1-year-old Maggie McLaren. Click here to sign up.
Born with just one working heart ventricle, Maggie was admitted at the University of Michigan ’s Mott Children’s Hospital to wait until a new heart became available. As she approached month five of her stay, Maggie was weak, couldn’t stand, was too tired to crawl and was slowly reaching her medication limits.
Then came the news her parents Kelly and Nick had waited so long to hear and her transplant was under way.
Today, her heart is functioning just like it should. She’s eating like a champ: bananas, pancakes and string cheese are her favorites. She’s talking, running, jumping and splashing in the pool at the YMCA. Best of all, Maggie has a future and Kelly and Nick have their little girl back.
“It’s impossible for us to imagine life without Maggie. We are very lucky to have her healthy, and we are hell-bent on making sure she understands the gift she was given,” Kelly wrote in a personal blog. “’Today she drew a picture for her donor. We will continue to do this every year and keep them in a box so that we can look back in remembrance on her sweet angel and his/her family. They are a part of our world forever now.”
