Our Stories
Healthier Children. A Better World.™
Our Kids - Meet Kailyn & Ayden
A brother and a sister, both born with the same serious heart condition, underwent open-heart surgery and received heart transplants. Both recently competed in the World Transplant Games in Australia.
Kailyn, 12, and Ayden, 8
Heart Condition
Kailyn had the most beautiful red hair when she was born. Her parents brought her home without a hitch but a mere nine hours later noticed her demeanor had changed. She stopped feeding and appeared to be very sleepy. Concerned, her mother took her back to the hospital.
Kailyn entered the Emergency Department in her mother’s arms and was whisked away by a nurse. A medical team began working on the tiny baby immediately and she was subsequently airlifted to SickKids for more specialized care.
We would be lost without SickKids. The friends that have been made and the incredible people that have helped us and the kids have touched our lives like no others. We wouldn’t have two of our three children without SickKids.
- Kailyn and Ayden’s mom
Doctors sat down with Kailyn’s parents to explain her condition. Kailyn had a congenital heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). Kailyn had her first open-heart surgery at six days old and two days later, she underwent another procedure. After countless complications and hospitalizations doctors determined Kailyn needed a heart transplant. Thankfully, Kailyn only waited two weeks for a donor heart.
Two years after Kailyn received her transplant, she and her family learned that her little brother, still in utero, also had HLHS. Ayden went on the heart transplant list before he was born. At 20 days old, Ayden underwent his heart transplant with no complications.
Kailyn, 12, and Ayden, 8, both competed in the World Transplant Games in Australia, in August 2009. Ayden won a gold medal in his age category in badminton, a silver in the 50m sprint and ball throw and a bronze in bowling. Kailyn won a silver in badminton.
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