Journeys of Hope, Healing and Triumph

Meet Cadence, Ewan and Brandon. This special highlights their journey with us at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, the medical expertise and the pediatric specialists who saved their lives. These incredible stories will touch your heart and bring you hope.

Cadence's Heart Healing Journey

Cadence was a perfectly healthy baby not even one year old, when he came down with a viral infection that attacked his heart and was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy. Cadence was put on ECMO and needed a Berlin Heart, a type of Left Ventricular Assist Device or ”LVAD” to keep his heart pumping. An LVAD typically serves as a bridge to transplant. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle.

Ewan's Heart Transplant Journey

Two weeks after birth Ewan was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy and several months later suffered a near fatal scare. Eventually, Ewan needed a Left Ventricular Assist Device, a mechanical pump that is implanted inside a person’s chest to help a weakened heart pump blood. Ewan was a fighter, his spirit never broke and at 18 months, Ewan received the lifesaving procedure he needed to thrive.

Brandon's Neurosurgery Journey

17-year-old Brandon was a State Champion Cyclist and his world turned upside down the day he was racing and collided with an adult cyclist during a match sprint. He was rushed to Children’s Hospital of Michigan emergency room and treated for injuries. But what medical experts discovered at that time, unrelated to Brandon’s accident, is that he had a cyst on his brain that could rupture and alter the course of Brandon’s life.

Enjoy the Thanksgiving Day Special stories from last year – Flaviu's Heart Story, Brooke's NICU Story and Lachlan's Urology Story.