Posted: Feb 28, 2013 5:12 PM Updated: Feb 28, 2013 5:25 PM By: Anjuli Lohn, FOX 13 News – bio
TAMPA (FOX 13) – She looks like a normal baby, but Jaelyn Anderson packs a lot of fight in her pint-sized frame.
“She brings joy to everybody. With how sick she is, you’d never even know it,” said Jaelyn’s mom, Brooke Anderson.
The 9-month old has myocarditis. Simply put, her heart is too big for her body.
“It’s big enough to be a 2 or 3-year old’s heart. She just loves you more though,” Brooke Anderson smiled.
Jaelyn’s parents have been by her bedside at All Children’s Hospital’s intensive care unit for five months, waiting for a call to replace her broken heart.
On Thursday morning, their prayers were finally answered with one doctor’s words.
“We got a heart! We got a heart!” Brooke Anderson cried.
In a matter of hours, Jaelyn’s new heart would finally be heading home. While transplant could be rejected, family members have faith that Jaelyn’s will won’t weaken now.
“She’s going to make it through. That little girl’s waited five months, she’s going to make it,” Brooke Anderson said.
She says her family’s fight is finally turning a corner.
“Today’s just the beginning. Our whole life changes after this day,” she said.
All Children’s Hospital tells FOX 13 that Jaelyn’s transplant should be complete late Thursday evening. She’ll recover at the hospital for the next few weeks, but her parents tell us she’ll finally arrive home in time for her first birthday.
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