Dalton ’s legacy: Avery’s heart, Cheryl’s hope

Dalton Lawyer is forever 8. He’s a big brother. He’s a leader. And he’s a hero — an organ donor who’s saved four lives and provided hope to many, many more. Avery Toole is 12. She’s an only child — with three older brothers. Dalton and Avery’s lives intersected in 2009. Dalton was riding his bike, while on a family vacation. Avery, 5, was at Boston Children’s Hospital, her life hanging in the balance. She had been on the transplant list, waiting for a heart for 52 days. Dalton was struck by a truck. One week after the accident, Dr. Elizabeth Blume, medical director of the Boston Children’s Heart Transplant Program, phoned Avery’s parents Cheryl and Mike Toole. She had “the perfect heart” for Avery. “We knew Dalton didn’t need his organs wherever he was going,” says Dalton’s father Jim Lawyer. Jim, an anesthesiologist, and his wife Jeri, an operating room nurse, donated their son’s organs. Avery’s heart transplant The 18-hour surgery to transplant Dalton’s heart into Avery’s chest was a success. Dalton Lawyer It changed Avery’s life. Avery had been in and out of Boston Children’s since birth when she was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a very serious congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is underdeveloped and can’t pump enough red blood to supply the body. “Avery is our only child. Even though we normalized life in her early years, it was so hard,” says her mother Cheryl Tool...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Our Patients’ Stories Research and Innovation Dr. Elizabeth Blume Heart transplant program hypoplastic left heart syndrome NICU Source Type: news