CAMANO ISLAND — Deven Rekdal needed a new heart, fast.
Doctors discovered a few months ago that his 8-year-old heart wasn’t working properly.
The boy needed a transplant.
He finally got one on Oct. 4 at Seattle Children’s Hospital, said Cory Bright, Deven’s mom.
“He’s been a trooper through the whole thing,” she said.
Deven has been home for almost a week now, and he is recovering well, Bright said. His body has shown some signs of organ rejection, but doctors told the family it was to be expected after the surgery.
To help pay for Deven’s care, his family held a fundraiser in August and opened a special fund at Frontier Bank. They are grateful for the prayers, support and donations from the community, Bright said.
Doctors expect that Deven will be able to go back to living a full life after a year of recovery.
An active child, Deven can’t wait to go back to his karate lessons and to start playing basketball. He misses school and his friends. He likely will return to school in about six months, Bright said. For now, though, Deven can’t even have any visitors because the medication he is taking reduces his immune system’s effectiveness, she said.
He’s been playing lots of video games.
But come November, Deven will be getting a new friend, a black Labrador retriever puppy from the Make a Wish Foundation.
Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
You can help
Donations are being accepted at any Frontier Bank branch under the A New Heart For Deven fund.
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