First pediatric heart transplant; UW Health celebrates

MADISON, Wis. - An 11-year-old boy can get back to playing the sport he loves most all thanks to a first-of-its-kind heart transplant from UW Health.

Sezar and his family emigrated from Syria to the United States about six years ago.

Sezar is 11 years old and has a passion for playing soccer. No one would have *guessed that Sezar's health would soon take a turn for the worst.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

 "He started throwing up every night before he sleep," his father Sam said. "He can’t sleep before he throw up."

Sam took Sezar to a doctor in Rockford, Ill. The otherwise healthy boy was suffering from heart failure.

"It was a shock," Sam said. "Like, I’m still in shock now."

After redoing some labs, they learned Sezar would have to be transported to Madison.

UW Health experts treated Sezar with medicine. He even underwent surgery, receiving a mechanical heart pump.

But it wasn't going to be enough to save his life.

He needed a new heart.

"On one side you’re very sad, you want to cry," Sam said. "And the other side, you can’t show it to him, you have to hide it."

The length of time it takes to get an organ transplant varies from weeks to years.

Luckily, for Sezar, he was only in the hospital for one month.

"We actually got to tell Sezar’s father in person," UW Health Kids medical director of the pediatric heart transplant program Sonya Kirmani said. "That was obviously an overwhelming experience."

Dr. Sonya Kirmani

A team of surgeons successfully implanted a donor heart, making Sezar the first transplant of the new pediatric transplant program at UW Health.

"This thing happened, and it changed the whole thing – my whole life."

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android.

Now Sezar is back on the field again, playing the sport he loves most.

His dad says soccer isn't his only talent; math is too.