LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After a successful heart transplant on Thanksgiving, a 2-year-old boy will be going home to Bardstown, KY to reunite with his full family.
Rocky McKenna was diagnosed with left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy (LVNC) when he was five months old. Dr. Sarah Wilkens, the Medical Director of the Pediatric Heart Failure and Transplant Program at Norton Healthcare, said this diagnosis is when the heart muscle isn't formed properly. She said this is when a side of the heart gets too big and it can't squeeze as well as it should.
Rocky McKenna spent 123 days in the Jennifer Lawrence pediatric intensive care unit before being told he could wait for his new heart at home.
His parents were told he got a new heart on Nov. 24.
Rocky's father, Chris McKenna, said "It means everything. I mean, he’s been through such a long journey to get to this point. And, it’s just a miracle that he was able to get the gift of a second chance at life by getting his new heart.”
His mother, Taylor Hughes, said it means everything to her to be able to see her child go home healthy instead of sick like he had in the past.
Doctors and nurses lined the hallway as Hughes pulled a cart with Rocky inside, waving banners and cheering as he left the wing.
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