Lainee Jordan is a 14-year-old teen from Ernul, currently waiting on a transplant list for a new heart. She was born with a rare congenital heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. She was diagnosed when she was just a few months old.
For the first 8 years of her life she was treated with heart medications to help regulate her heart. Her entire life, she has been extra careful not to do activities that would cause her heart to work too hard. Any activity that she does participate in requires many modifications or frequent rest periods.
During the spring of 2016, the heart medications did not work well enough. Her heart function could not keep up to meet normal bodily demands such as circulating oxygen rich blood to organs and tissue. Lainee suffered increased fatigue, drowsiness, weakness, and intermittent chest pain. It is so hard for a girl who wants to be active to be so restricted.
At 8 years old, Lainee had open heart surgery to help “reshape” her heart so it would pump better. Her heart became somewhat pumpkin shaped. When it contracted, it would not pump out enough volume of blood. The heart surgeons had to shave a little tissue off the septum, the wall that divides the left from the right side of the heart.
Lainee was so brave for such a young person to undergo such a big surgery. This surgery helped Lainee’s heart to pump better and allowed her to be more active again.
Now, Lainee’s heart is at an impasse and the medications are not working well. There are NO other surgical alternatives. Duke Children’s Hospital has recommended a lifesaving heart transplant.
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The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the nation’s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children and young adults. 100% of each contribution made to COTA in honor of our patients helps meet transplant-related expenses. COTA’s services are free to our families, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.