Teen gets Christmas miracle in the form of new heart, kidney at Children’s Hospital in Ohio

A Kentucky family received the best Christmas present they could ask for at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital — a new heart and kidney for 17-year-old Marquis, who desperately needed both.

Marquis was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and received a heart transplant in 2005 when he was just 3 years old.

After his transplant, he battled severe rejection and required the assistance of a temporary ventricular assist device. He recovered from this rejection but had been battling the failure of his kidneys, according to Sherri Withrow, Marquis’ mother.

In 2018, Marquis was told that he required another heart transplant due to dysfunction and mitral and tricuspid valve regurgitation. He also required a kidney transplant for chronic kidney disease, stage 4.

Since his initial heart transplant, Marquis and his mother have been required to travel to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for close follow-up with his physicians. These appointments can sometimes be multiple times each week, causing his mother, Sherri, to miss a significant amount of work.

Also, because of the complications with heart transplant, Marquis has been hospitalized multiple times while his cardiology team monitors his heart closely, making sure that he is not in rejection.

About a total of 17 hours of surgery later, here he stands now with two new organs. Two organs he waited for a year and four months to receive.

Want to help Marquis and his family?

Click here to donate and learn more through the Children’s Organ Transplant Association website.