In a heartbeat, my life changed forever.  I had just turned 16 when my heart stopped.  Literally.  Bowling with my family, I suffered my first cardiac arrest.  I didn’t see it coming.  No one did. 

As I turned blue, my dad gave me life saving CPR until the paramedics arrived.  I received over 15 shocks to bring me back to life, but nothing worked.  The ER team refused to give up on me, even though I had gone a long time with no heart beat, no rhythm.  The firefighters told us they should have called it.  They put me on life support after getting a faint rhythm but honestly expected no brain function.  All of my organs had shut down.  

Full life support.  ECMO pumping for my heart.  CRT machine acting as my kidneys.  Full ventilation breathing for my lungs.  The next day, when I was turned, I started spewing blood.  Apparently my stomach had ruptured from the CPR.   A surgeon stood over my bed in the ICU in a crazy 5 hour surgery where I bled out twice the blood volume in my body.  

When I squeezed my mom’s hand, my medical team ran around the ICU.  When I started getting sarcastic with my eye rolls, my doctor rejoiced as sarcasm is a high level brain function.  When they took me off life support, I stayed alive.  

I had to air evac to PCH, checking off fly in a helicopter off my bucket list.  One by one, I clogged up the machines as I no longer needed them.  Lungs healed.  Kidneys healed.  Brain healed.  Heart needed a defib, but getting stronger.  After 6 1/2 weeks I walked out of the hospital.  I literally stood up from my wheelchair to take those last steps on my own.

At home, I rehabbed to regain some strength.  But my heart just couldn’t catch up with me.  My medical team has done everything medically possibly, and they call me a miracle.  But after a few heart surgeries, (I had a few ICD’s which I called Jarvis and Friday), a few internal shocks to keep my heart going and a few ICU trips, it’s time for a new heart.

I am adventurous.  Always jumping off cliffs, camping, hiking, exploring, you get the idea.   I haven’t been able to run in almost 2 years.  Basketball and baseball are dreams I can hardly wait to get back to.  A heart transplant will let me live, not just survive.

COTA is helping me.  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.