Tampa teen gets life-saving transplant after heart condition diagnosis
TAMPA, Fla. - A 13-year-old Tampa boy who desperately needed a heart transplant is now getting the gift of life.
Victor Cruz, 13, spent all day Wednesday undergoing the 10-hour operation at UF Health Shands Children's Hospital in Gainesville with his family by his side. It came after his sister learned Tuesday evening that doctors had found a match for Victor.
"As soon as they told me, I forgot everything I was doing," said Louise Cruz, Victor's sister. "I was like ‘are you for real? Are you sure?’"
"I was just like excited but scared a little bit, you know, just thinking about the whole surgery," she said.
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Just weeks ago, Victor was perfectly healthy, celebrating his 13th birthday. But then, just days later, stomach issues sent him to the doctor.
After several tests, they learned he had fluid in his abdomen caused by a heart condition they never knew he had called dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), which is extremely rare in kids, affecting about 1 in every 200,000 children.
It meant Victor would need a new heart.
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They initially thought the donor would need to be a child, but later learned he or she only needed to be less than 200 pounds, which helped greatly increase the chances of finding a donor.
"When the doctor told him that he was going to get the heart he was kind of like a little quiet," Louise said. "He was kind of like shocked and didn't know what to think of it and nervous of what's about to happen."
The transplant was successfully completed around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Victor will spend the next few days resting in the hospital and should be back to his regular activities in the next few months.
"I don't think there's any words I could really say that would really show exactly how grateful I am. It's such a blessing being able to give my brother a second chance," Louise said.
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