A 5-year-old boy is recovering after doctors successfully performed a heart transplant, something he’s been waiting on for a long time.
When Erica Stritch Schultz was just 18 weeks pregnant, doctors diagnosed her baby with a heart defect called critical aortic stenosis and evolving hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Little Ari underwent two successful heart surgeries before he was even born.
He is now 5 years old and spent more than 200 days waiting for a new heart. According to his website, Echo of Hope, Ari spent months living at Boston Children's Hospital suffering from congestive heart failure.
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On Friday, Ari finally got good news: a new heart was available for him. His parents recorded the moment they told Ari and shared it to his Facebook page.
“Are they going to find a good spot to put it?” Ari asked his parents in the video.
Ari, an avid sports fan, was thrilled that he might be able to attend a Red Sox game this season.
His parents are asking for prayers.
“If praying is what you do, now is the time, for Ari, and for Ari’s donor and family. We’ve been thinking about them, their sacrifice, their sorrow and their immense kindness nonstop. And will every day for the rest of our lives,” his family wrote on Facebook.
According to an update shared early Saturday morning, Ari’s surgery was a success and he is now recovering.
"His chest is still open and he will be paralyzed and sedated for days. He has a long road ahead of him but today begins the journey and now we take it one day at a time," the family wrote.
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