Posted: Mar 01, 2013 3:54 PM Updated: Mar 01, 2013 3:54 PM By: Anjuli Lohn, FOX 13 News – bio
ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) –
A Bay area baby is recovering beautifully, after finally getting the heart transplant she’s waited half her young life for. Jaelyn Anderson had a rare disorder that made her heart too big for her body.
Thursday, her parents found out their daughter was finally getting the transplant she needed to survive.
Ten-month-old Jaelyn Anderson was swiftly skirted into a four-hour surgery Thursday evening.
By Friday morning, she proved once again that her strength far exceeds her pint-sized frame. Her fragile body accepted her new heart flawlessly. She was off a bypass machine less than an hour after leaving the operating room.
“I am so amazed. I am so happy. The tears I have today are tears of joy. They’re not scared anymore,” Jaelyn’s mom, Brooke Anderson said Friday.
Friday morning, Jaelyn was uncomfortable in her hospital crib.
“You can tell in her face that she’s sore. She looks at you and she’s like, ‘Why am I here? What did you do to me?’ ” Jaelyn’s dad, Joshua Anderson said.
Jaelyn’s parents say she’s a survivor. She defied even doctor’s expectations.
“It was my scary because my little girl could have crashed on us at any time. The doctors and nurses didn’t expect her to make it three weeks, tops. And she made it five months,” Brooke Anderson said.
Jaelyn will recover for the next few weeks at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. The Andersons will then have to live close by for a month or so, in case there are any complications with her new heart.
Jaelyn’s parents hope to have her home by her first birthday in May.