Rady Children's Hospital has performed its first ever dual transplant on a 13-year-old boy from Arizona. Patient Nehemiah "Nemo" Maldonado received a heart and kidney transplant within days of each other.
Maldonado was all smiles as his medical team gathered outside the hospital Friday to show support for braving his recent surgeries.
“They’re both healing up really good. Like the scars and stuff,” Maldonado said. “I’m overwhelmed. I’m happy. I’m sad. I’m grateful. I thank god. I’m just happy.”
Maldonado transferred from a hospital in southern Arizona to Rady Children's Hospital last August due to an enlarged heart which was failing.
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Maldonado’s doctor says there were days when they were concerned about his ability to make it, but Maldonado has pushed through and made an amazing recovery.
Doctors say Maldonado will be able to go back to living a normal life and will continue to be monitored for any evidence of rejection or changes in his heart function.
“We have an amazing team here and we work really well together and really supported him at all levels. And that included our extended team in Arizona that we worked closely with. It’s just so gratifying to see him doing well and being able to return home,” Maldonado’s doctor told NBC 7.
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Maldonado and his family will spend the next few months living at the Ronald McDonald House as he continues his recovery process. Rady Children's Hospital says the surgery is the second dual transplant in the last five years in California and is the 56th transplant of its kind in the country.
