Category: Pediatric Patient Stories

On June 23, 2023, the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease successfully performed its first partial heart transplant.

On July 1, 2022, Leo Rodriguez was born with a rare congenital heart defect that resulted in being waitlisted for a heart transplant. 269 days later, baby Leo was cleared to leave the hospital for the first time in his life.

For parents Linda and Robert Sedillo, it was seemingly impossible to find a heart surgeon to take on their infant daughter Rubi’s case. When they reached out to the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, they were met with a care team willing to address their needs and support them in a path forward for Rubi. Find out how receiving care at the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease helped them become better advocates for their child's health.

The Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease contributes to the chain of survival that played a vital role in an 11-year-old soccer player's miraculous recovery.

Lincoln Contrearas' treatment at the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease granted his family optimism for the future.

On December 13, 2018, 5-year-old Owen Coulter’s heart stopped beating in the emergency room at Dell Children’s Medical Center. After 90 minutes of CPR and other critical interventions, his heart began beating again. Today, three years later, Owen is a vibrant, curious second grader. Read Owen's story and find out why Owen's parents, Kristin and Darin Coulter, refer to Dell Children's as their family.

Despite having access to centers that specialize in pediatric headache in Houston and Dallas, parents Michael and Linda Olson choose to travel from Houston to Austin so that their daughter, Maya, could receive care from the Headache Center within UT Health Austin Pediatric Neurosciences at Dell Children’s. Find out why.

Lorenzo Restrepo was born with a rare and complex medical condition that resulted in multiple congenital heart defects. When he was 4 months old, his parents traveled from Colombia, South America to seek care from Charles Fraser, MD, who operated on Lorenzo and now serves as Chief of the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease. Today, Lorenzo is an 18-year-old high school senior living a normal and active life despite what doctors predicted.

UT Health Austin and Dell Children’s Medical Center are proud to announce that 13-year-old Grace Jennings is home after receiving a long-awaited heart transplant. Grace received her heart transplant on January 26, 2021 after waiting 15 months for a donor heart while on a lifesaving mechanical heart pump.

Levi was born with a ventricular septal defect, a more common congenital heart defect characterized by a hole in the ventricular septum, that can sometimes close as a child grows. But when Levi's hole didn't close his family was prepared to travel anywhere across the nation to make sure he received the best care possible. To their surprise, they ended up finding a world-class pediatric cardiac care team right here in Central Texas.

On January 11, 2021, the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, a clinical partnership between UT Health Austin and Dell Children’s Medical Center, successfully implanted its first Berlin Heart ventricular assist device in a pediatric patient.

The Heart Failure, VAD, and Transplant Program, a specialty program within the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, successfully performs their first heart transplant, providing 18-year-old Gerado with a lifesaving heart transplant.

Find out how Kaitlin Lunt, a 22-year-old Austin resident who has suffered from chronic migraines for ten years, finds relief without experiencing setbacks.

12-year-old Grace Jennings is the first pediatric congenital heart patient in Central Texas to receive a life-saving mechanical heart device to stabilize her heart function. Find out how she has exceeded all expectations and is growing stronger each day.

When you're faced with a decision on where to take your child for the best care it can be a tough choice. Two-year-old Addie has been with Dr. Carlos Mery since the beginning, even when Dr. Mery moved to Austin to establish the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Defects here, Addie's mom, Patty, new he was worth following.

Joaquin is an energetic 13-year-old boy who loves playing sports, but in September 2018 he began experiencing intense chest pains during baseball practice that turned out to be a massive cardiovascular event that changed his life forever.