Until June 2017, Liam seemed like a healthy little boy. He had yet to show any signs of a rare heart problem in children: left ventricular cardiomyopathy caused by laminopathy, due to a genetic mutation. Liam was 6 years old when the first symptoms of the disease appeared. He was hospitalized with what was thought to be a simple case of gastroenteritis. It was quite a shock for the family to learn that he would need a new heart to live.

On July 27, 2018, after 14 months—427 days exactly—at Montreal Children’s Hospital, eight-year-old Liam received a new heart. The wait was long, and Liam had been living with a Berlin heart all that time. Without the artificial heart, he would not have survived. Children who receive such a device usually keep it for no more than 11 months, as complications begin to emerge beyond that point. This was Liam’s case: he suffered two strokes and an artificial heart pump malfunction that could have been fatal. 

“When we got the news Liam would be getting a new heart, everything went really fast! The medical team arrived, and three hours later, he was in the operating room. It was like winning the lottery, like a miracle had finally happened!” says Kim, Liam’s mother. Despite his young age, Liam understood someone had had to die for him to receive the heart.

The 12-hour operation was successful. Just 13 days later, Liam, who defied all odds, left the hospital to start a new life at home, where he hadn’t been for over a year. Liam feels it is important to raise awareness about organ donations. He has even made YouTube videos encouraging people to sign their donor cards. For this well-behaved boy and his family, there is a before and after. “We’re changed forever. We’re more resilient, but also more fragile,” says his mother.