When it came time to blow out his candles on his 14th birthday, Estefano Reano had only one wish: a new heart. Just 40 minutes later, the Pediatric Heart Transplant team at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital surprised his family with a phone call that made his wish come true making the Weston teen the hospital’s 30th heart transplant recipient.
Today, he is the living legacy of a donor family who gave this pediatric heart transplant patient with a gift of a new life with his family, physicians and medical staff and in time to go home for the holidays. Emotions were high at a press conference at the Conine Clubhouse, located adjacent to JDCH, where Estefano and his family were reunited with the heart transplant team. They came to express their gratitude and give moving tributes and heartfelt testimonials urging the community to become organ donors.
“I am so happy to be here and I am so thankful to everyone,” said Estefano. “I want to do many things like travel and I want to one day run a sanctuary for endangered animals. I thank the family for giving someone like me a second chance to live the life that I always wanted.”
