LITTLE WONDER BABY GOES HOME WITH NEW HEART.Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer Ten-month-old Madalyn Baynes came home to Simi Valley on Friday from UCLA's Mattel Children's Hospital after a successful heart transplant. Now, her mother, Andrea, hopes she can soon get a new heart of her own. In a rare occurrence, mother and daughter needed heart transplants at the same time. Doctors believe a virus caused Andrea Baynes' heart to enlarge, leading to cardiomyopathy Cardiomyopathy Definition Cardiomyopathy is a chronic disease of the heart muscle (myocardium), in which the muscle is abnormally enlarged, thickened, and/or stiffened. , or heart failure. The virus may have been transmitted from mother to child during her pregnancy. On Friday, there was nothing but joy at the Bayneses' house. ``It's the best feeling in the world,'' said the infant's father, Ken Baynes, cradling the radiant little girl in his arms. ``It worked. We're done. We're going home. My baby is happy again. Right, sweet pea? Right, peaches? It's phenomenal.'' ``I'm overjoyed o·ver·joy tr.v. o·ver·joyed, o·ver·joy·ing, o·ver·joys To fill with joy; delight. o ,'' said Andrea Baynes. ``They actually delayed it by one day. I wasn't letting them give me any excuses. I wanted her out. She is doing great. She is just amazing. I've had so many people tell me, 'I can't believe she is leaving already.''' Madalyn waited 10 weeks for a donor match. ``She came to us a little over two months ago in severe congestive heart failure congestive heart failure, inability of the heart to expel sufficient blood to keep pace with the metabolic demands of the body. In the healthy individual the heart can tolerate large increases of workload for a considerable length of time. with a very dilated dilated a state of dilatation. dilated cardiomyopathy see congestive cardiomyopathy. dilated pupil syndrome see feline dysautonomia (Key-Gaskell syndrome). , failing heart,'' said Dr. Mark D. Plunkett, a heart surgeon at the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. , Mattel Children's Hospital. ``She was placed on medication and had a sort of tenuous hospital stay waiting for an appropriate donor. ``We fortunately were able to find a donor over the July Fourth weekend, and she successfully underwent heart transplantation Heart Transplantation Definition Heart transplantation, also called cardiac transplantation, is the replacement of a patient's diseased or injured heart with a healthy donor heart. and since that time has really had a beautiful and uneventful recovery with her and the new heart doing very well. She's just under two weeks tomorrow from under transplant.'' Andrea Baynes, 30, may have to wait two or three years for a donor heart but is stable enough to wait at home and is doing well on drug therapy. She has a defibrillator defibrillator, device that delivers an electrical shock to the heart in order to stop certain forms of rapid heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias). The shock changes a fibrillation to an organized rhythm or changes a very rapid and ineffective cardiac rhythm to a implanted in her chest to keep her heart functioning. Plunkett, the director of the UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX pediatric pediatric /pe·di·at·ric/ (pe?de-at´rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe·di·at·ric adj. Of or relating to pediatrics. heart transplant program, said this is the first time he's had a mother and daughter in need of heart transplants at the same time, although the hospital currently has a father and son in need of transplants. But in that case, the heart problems are genetic. ``We have been very successful with heart transplantation with both adults and children,'' Plunkett said. ``The overall prognosis continues to improve each year. ``We keep developing more effective means of immunosuppression immunosuppression Suppression of immunity with drugs, usually to prevent rejection of an organ transplant. Its aim is to allow the recipient to accept the organ permanently with no unpleasant side effects. and medications to reduce the risk of rejection, which is really the keystone to success of the transplantation.'' For the Baynes family, the gratitude to the doctors runs deep. ``Early on, when this was starting to develop, she got very quiet and stopped belly laughing and stopped her movement,'' Ken Baynes said. ``There were different signs that parallel the normal problem of 999 babies her age. ``So for her to come back as our little baby, that's what's important. They did an awesome job and I'm very thankful. I'm thankful for the family, whoever the family was, that donated the heart that my daughter received. It enabled her to have life and as a result, enabled my family to go on as a whole.'' To help donate to Madalyn's care, contact Washington Mutual Bank at (800) 788-7000 and inquire about the Madalyn Baynes Beneficiary Account. For information about the organ donation program at UCLA, visit www.healthcare.ucla.udu/transplant. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Andrea and Ken Baynes of Simi Valley welcome home 10-month-old Madalyn Baynes after her heart transplant. (2) Andrea Baynes shows daughter Madalyn's scar after her heart transplant. Andrea Baynes needs the procedure also. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer |
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