On June 12, Juliana Graves met her donor heart family with her mom, dad and brother by her side. Juliana, now 6, had a life-saving heart transplant at Texas Children’s in 2014 at just 17 days old.
The Graves family knew they would one day want to meet the family who gave their daughter the gift of life. That meeting happened last week when the Graves family met the Aguiars at LifeGift where they shared stories and memories about Juliana and the Aguiars’ son, Christopher.
Christopher’s mom, Jennifer Aguiar, also listened to her son’s heart beating inside Juliana’s chest.
“Meeting the Graves family was both beautiful and comforting,” Jennifer Aguiar said. “It’s helping me process the loss of my son.”
Riki Graves, Juliana’s mother, said her family thinks and prays about Christopher every day and that being able to meet his family was “wonderful.”
During the meeting, Juliana handed Jennifer a teddy bear and gave her a big, long hug.
“The most important thing this family has given me is Christopher’s heart,” the little girl said.
Living without a new heart was not an option for Juliana. Doctors with Texas Children’s Fetal and Heart Centers diagnosed her with a complex heart condition before she was born and initially thought she would need several heart surgeries shortly after being delivered.
Riki was already fighting a battle when she found out, at 20-weeks pregnant, that her unborn daughter might not survive. Earlier in her pregnancy, Riki was diagnosed with breast cancer and decided to pause treatment while still pregnant.
Her team of doctors at the Fetal Center monitored her pregnancy very closely. Juliana was born on April 9, 2014 and it was determined that her heart was too structurally abnormal and weak to undergo surgery. Juliana was placed on the transplant list on April 21. On April 26, at 17 days old, she received her new heart.
Dr. Jeffrey Heinle, associate chief of congenital heart surgery, led the transplant surgery, which was a success. He and Dr. Jeff Dreyer, pediatric cardiologist and medical director of heart failure, cardiomyopathy and cardiac transplantation, have been following Juliana and working with the Graves family to provide them with continuous, ongoing care.
“The Graves’ story is a remarkable one and much of it is owed to the generosity of the Aguiar family,” Heinle said. “Organ donation truly saves lives. This is a perfect example of that.”
Dreyer agreed and said it’s always nice to be part of such a happy ending.
“This mother and child have overcome so many obstacles,” he said. “Continuous monitoring for Juliana will be needed, but she is on a positive path forward thanks to her donor family and others.”
Diana Harter, assistant clinical director of nursing for transplant, was Juliana’s transplant coordinator. She said she knows the Graves family has been waiting a long time to meet their donor family and that such meetings are meaningful and healing for everyone involved.
“Donor meetings are so special to witness,” said Harter, who attended the meeting with the Graves and Aguiars last week via video conference. “They bring everything full circle.”