3-Month-Old Receives Gift Of Life

When I first saw little Max Morris I was struck by how he looked two things at once: fragile and strong. He is the size of a regular 3-month-old infant, tiny and pink-faced. But his face is criss-crossed with wires and tubes, and he has scars up and down his chest. This baby is a survivor. His parents almost lost him. Several times.

Max’s story is dramatic, in a way that sends chills through anyone who loves a child. He was born healthy… but when he was 9 days old, his mother noticed he was a little fussy and wouldn’t eat. The Morris’ put in a couple of calls to the nurse advice line and were told to watch him closely. When he started breathing oddly, the advice: call 9-1-1.

3-Month-Old Receives Gift Of Life

Even after paramedics arrived, everyone thought it must be a moderate respiratory issue. But within minutes, and on the way to the closest hospital, he turned blue. The specialist on-call recognized it for what it was: a critical heart condition. He ordered an immediate helicopter to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

At the cardiac care center at Egleston, Max’s journey has included three major surgeries. Doctors diagnosed cardiomyopathy, a virus had attacked his heart, and it would not get better. They requested he receive a donor heart when one became available.

In the meantime, Max’s surgeon realized the baby couldn’t survive the wait. Dr. Brian Kogon implanted the tubes for a device called the Berlin heart. It’s a substitute heart, that actually works outside the patient’s body, drawing the blood out to circulate, then pumping it back in. Max is the youngest patient in Georgia to ever receive this device. The Berlin Heart is not yet approved by the FDA, but doctors got special permission to use it in Max’s case. His surgeon tells me it was the child’s only option for survival.

A normal wait for a donor heart might be 2-4 weeks. It took 6 weeks for Max. However, when a donor heart did show up: it was a blood type match. Max had his life-saving heart transplant in November. Just imagine the precision for that surgery- an infant’s heart is only a little bigger than a golf ball.

So far, Max’s transplanted heart is working well. But he has a long road ahead: a daily drug regimen and life-long health checks. His parents have mountains of medical bills.

When we visited Max and his parents in the hospital, Max opened his eyes and looked, and looked, and looked into his mother’s eyes. This is where the strength part comes in. His parents call him “Mr. Man.” Nurses in the cardiac unit call him “Mighty Max.”

Max was not able to go home for his first Christmas; he still needs breathing tubes and constant monitoring. His parents dream of the day they’ll have Max sleeping in their home, in his room, in his crib.

Until then, they are thankful he’s surviving. His father says: “He’s something special. He’s a gift.”

To follow his progress and check on how to help with is treatment: Go to www.transplantfund.org and search for "Max Morris."