Jeremiah Pearson is about to start his senior year of high school. For most seniors that means looking forward to graduation, college acceptance, prom, being a senior athlete. But for Jeremiah, senior year will include waiting for a new heart. Hearing the news this summer that he was in need of a heart transplant brought up mixed emotions. Fear. Relief. Sadness. Gratefulness. We are disappointed that it has come to this, but thankful that he has been given this option. 

When Jeremiah was born, he had several complex heart defects including congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries, Ebstein’s anomaly, double aortic arch and atrial septal defect – which we will explain in detail in a later post. Before the age of 3, he had three open heart surgeries to repair the defects including the Double switch (Arterial switch and Senning procedure). Postoperative recovery for this last surgery was rough and he spent five weeks in the Cardiac ICU where he survived cardiac arrest and one week on ECMO (similar to heart-lung bypass machine). 

As he became a teenager, his heart function progressively declined. Jeremiah has been under the care of the Pediatric Heart Failure team at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas for the past few years. His oral heart meds have been fine tuned and maxed out, and no other surgical repairs are suitable at this time. 

This spring, a cardiac catheterization was done to gather more information, and Jeremiah was told he has severe systolic and diastolic heart failure. After more tests and appointments he was officially listed on June 25, 2021. A heart transplant has been brought up in the past as a possibility… but it is still a shock that Jeremiah needs one now. We are trusting in God’s plan for his life; a new heart will give him a fresh start. 

We invite you to follow Jeremiah’s journey as he waits with hope for a new heart. Thank you in advance for walking along with him.

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.