PawneeSports
02-14-2006, 05:42 AM
Associated Press - San Francisco
http://hosted.ap.org/photos/F/FX10402131915-big.jpg
(AP Photo/Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Todd Kleinheinz)
This June 2005, photo provided by Lucile Packard Children's Hospital shows a surgeon installing the Berlin Heart pump on Jason Zhao, 5, at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Stanford, Calif. Jason Zhao received a heart transplant Monday, Feb. 6, 2006. He was living with the Berlin Heart mechanical external pump since June, 2005. The device kept him alive for 234 days longer than any other child in North America.
Feb 13, 9:25 PM EST
California boy breaks artificial heart record
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A 6-year-old Vacaville boy received a new heart after relying on an artificial heart for nearly eight months, longer than any child in North America, according to hospital.
During the 234-day ordeal at Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, Jason Zhao suffered two strokes and three brain hemorrhages. Just a month ago, he was removed from the donation waiting list and estimated to have only three weeks to live after a stroke paralyzed him and silenced him, said the boy's father, Guanglin Zhao.
That's all changed.
"He's smiling again, eating, waving and saying 'hi' to the doctors and nurses," Guanglin Zhao said.
"Jason didn't want to give up, no matter what obstacles he had."
The younger Zhao was placed on the artificial heart, a mechanical pump known as the Berlin Heart, in June when his abnormally swollen heart suddenly stopped beating.
Doctors had to seek permission from the Food and Drug Administration to place Jason on the device because it is not approved for routine use.
Only three other children in the world have survived on the pump longer than Jason, according to the hospital. Hospital officials did not know how long those children survived.
Five other young patients at the hospital have used the device since July 2004, when a 5-month-old infant became the youngest in the country to use it.
Prior to Jason, the longest amount of time a child have lived on the pump in North America was 174 days, said Todd Kleinheinz, a spokesman for the hospital.
Guanglin Zhao, a 41-year-old software engineer, said he and his wife, Dongmei, stayed with their son around the clock at the hospital while he was on the pump. Dongmei spent days with the boy and Guanglin spent nights after finishing work.
The couple frequently stayed at the nearby branch of the Ronald McDonald House, which provides accommodations to families with children facing life-threatening diseases.
"We prayed every day and also our church and people who don't even know us came to the hospital and prayed with us," Guanglin Zhao said.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://hosted.ap.org/photos/F/FX10402131915-big.jpg
(AP Photo/Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Todd Kleinheinz)
This June 2005, photo provided by Lucile Packard Children's Hospital shows a surgeon installing the Berlin Heart pump on Jason Zhao, 5, at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Stanford, Calif. Jason Zhao received a heart transplant Monday, Feb. 6, 2006. He was living with the Berlin Heart mechanical external pump since June, 2005. The device kept him alive for 234 days longer than any other child in North America.
Feb 13, 9:25 PM EST
California boy breaks artificial heart record
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A 6-year-old Vacaville boy received a new heart after relying on an artificial heart for nearly eight months, longer than any child in North America, according to hospital.
During the 234-day ordeal at Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, Jason Zhao suffered two strokes and three brain hemorrhages. Just a month ago, he was removed from the donation waiting list and estimated to have only three weeks to live after a stroke paralyzed him and silenced him, said the boy's father, Guanglin Zhao.
That's all changed.
"He's smiling again, eating, waving and saying 'hi' to the doctors and nurses," Guanglin Zhao said.
"Jason didn't want to give up, no matter what obstacles he had."
The younger Zhao was placed on the artificial heart, a mechanical pump known as the Berlin Heart, in June when his abnormally swollen heart suddenly stopped beating.
Doctors had to seek permission from the Food and Drug Administration to place Jason on the device because it is not approved for routine use.
Only three other children in the world have survived on the pump longer than Jason, according to the hospital. Hospital officials did not know how long those children survived.
Five other young patients at the hospital have used the device since July 2004, when a 5-month-old infant became the youngest in the country to use it.
Prior to Jason, the longest amount of time a child have lived on the pump in North America was 174 days, said Todd Kleinheinz, a spokesman for the hospital.
Guanglin Zhao, a 41-year-old software engineer, said he and his wife, Dongmei, stayed with their son around the clock at the hospital while he was on the pump. Dongmei spent days with the boy and Guanglin spent nights after finishing work.
The couple frequently stayed at the nearby branch of the Ronald McDonald House, which provides accommodations to families with children facing life-threatening diseases.
"We prayed every day and also our church and people who don't even know us came to the hospital and prayed with us," Guanglin Zhao said.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.