HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Estefano Reano, who was born with a weak heart, spent most of his childhood recovering from surgeries. He waited for two years for a heart transplant.
When he turned 14 in November, he said he asked God to find him a heart. It was his birthday wish, and it came true just in time for Christmas.
The Pediatric Heart Transplant Team at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital got back to him on his birthday and Estefano rushed to the hospital the next day.
"Without a transplant, he would have died," Dr. Frank Scholl, the hospital's surgical director of Heart Transplantation, said during a press conference.
After the hospital's 30th heart transplant surgery, the team who helped to make Estefano's wish come true recorded a video. They sang him "Happy Birthday" inside the operating room. The video made it to Facebook.
Estefano is doing well. He is recovering with his mom, Roxanna Fergusson, in Weston. He said this is his "second chance to live" a life he had been dreaming of. Doctors believe the heart will help Estefano grow.
There is a lot he hasn't been able to do. His hope is that this new heart will allow him to play and travel. It has been five years since he last saw his dad who lives in Peru. Traveling there is at the top of his list.