Moreno Valley Boy Receives Heart Transplant After a Lifetime of Waiting

Twelve-year-old Manuel “Buddy” Vasquez was born with Shones Complex, a rare heart disease that comes with multiple heart defects which affect the left side of the heart and interfere with blood flow. In Buddy’s case, his heart was extremely enlarged, and he could not participate in any physical activity for more than about ten minutes without becoming very tired. For Buddy’s entire life, he has been in and out of the hospital. Immediately after he was born, his right lung collapsed. Born on Sept. 23, Buddy didn’t even go home for the first time until the day before Halloween. He was born seven pounds, but went all the way down to four pounds due to all of the complications. “He was a tiny, tiny baby,” his mom Crystal Medina said. Buddy has been put on and taken off the heart transplant list a couple times throughout his life. There are many qualifications to be a heart transplant candidate and his family shows that Buddy has met and broke the qualifications a couple times throughout the years. When they finally put him back on the list, it was because he wasn’t growing. “He weighed 65 pounds for about four years,” Medina stated. With the high pressure in his lungs, and his rare blood type, he had to wait very long to finally get a heart transplant. Finally on July 5 of this year, a Saturday night, they got the call from the hospital saying they had a heart for Buddy. When the elated family arrived at the hospital, they were informed that there had been a delay involving the donated heart. Luckily, doctors were able to preserve the organ, they just had to let the family know that it would take a little longer than expected to get Buddy and his soon-to-be new heart in the same place at the same time. Unfortunately, this delay was not expected and doctors had already gave Buddy anesthesia. Doctors had to wake Buddy up, and let him know that it would be a little longer before they would be able to move forward with the transplant. “That was definitely the hardest part,” Medina said after explaining that she told Buddy when he wakes up he’ll have a healthy heart. On that following Monday, July 7, Buddy received the heart transplant he had been waiting for his whole life. “It was such a good moment; it was surreal,” Medina said. His mother shared that the first couple of days after his surgery went very smoothly, however in the third day he began to bloat. “He couldn’t even open his eyes,” Medina said. After various tests, they found out that Buddy was suffering from a blood infection that came from the donor’s heart. Buddy became puffier; he got pneumonia, jaundice, and became so weak he wasn’t even able to cough for about four to five days. “Those days felt like an eternity,” Medina said. This was a long journey for the whole family since he stayed in the hospital for thirty-seven days straight. “He is such a family kid,” she shared. Since the family was not able to be in the same room with Buddy often, he would always ask his mother who was down stairs. “He would get his tablet and ooVoo them,” she said. His little sister Lyna always seems to have Buddy’s best interest at heart. “She would do everything for him, get him a blanket or a drink if he needed it.” Presently, Buddy is doing a lot better but is still in and out of the hospital. Over time, his hospital visits will decrease gradually. The doctors shared with Medina that “It will never be normal, but it will be better.” Buddy loves to be active and play sports. “His heart is set on playing baseball, traveling, and WrestleMania,” Medina shared. This year, WrestleMania is being held in Northern California and Medina promised him that she’d buy him a ticket if he gets medically cleared. “That’s his dream,” she shared. Raydeen Mararac, Buddy’s aunt, has set up a fundraiser for Buddy on the GiveForward website to help Buddy and his family throughout this long, difficult journey they have been through. With a goal of $5,000, the community has helped pull together $1,275 so far. The most recent update on Buddy, posted on Sept. 2, was posted on the GiveForward site reads: "His Hypertension is going away, and his heart arrhythmia is gone. As of right now, no blood infection, his PICC Line will be removed so hopefully that will help... his lungs are improving not that his Ammonia is clearing up. The liver and kidneys are showing improvement in functioning. He still gets tired but that will get better with time. He will have another biopsy next week to check for signs of rejection but over all we are on the right track to recovery." There have been many comments that various supporters of Buddy have left on their page: “Love you my John Cena,“ - Bernardina Mararac “Your family continues to stay in our prayers.” - The Browne Family “May God Bless Buddy with a speedy recovery and may he and his family be able to live without worry. Our son, Paul, who is 37 will have heart surgery in about a month, so we totally understand. He had surgery the first time when he was 5 and recovered nicely until now. May Buddy do as well, if not better, God bless him and his family.” - Bruce and Carrie Decker “Congratulations on your new heart Buddy! I'm so happy for you. Lots of hugs and love.” - Rebecca Marquez “I love you buddy, I'll be there to help you get through whatever obstacles are thrown your way.” - April Marquez “He’s been through a lot, I don’t know how he does it,” said Medina.