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LIVONIA, Mich. — Aiden Saunders and his family are celebrating an exceptional anniversary this month, one that they attribute to the power of prayer.
On March 16, the high school student and parishioner of Sacred Heart Byzantine Catholic Parish will mark his one-year anniversary with a new heart.
Aiden’s journey toward receiving his new heart had dips and valleys, but faith-related incidents along the way, which he and his family experienced as miracles, are what they retain as the signposts: a donor heart that was a perfect match for him in near record time, and previously non-believing family members and friends turning to faith, said his mother, Lori Saunders.
A year ago, late last February, Aiden got terribly sick. He seemed to have caught a bug the previous Christmas, but February’s ills were far worse. It was going on 10 days, and he wasn’t getting any better. She and her husband, Bill, weren’t sure what was going on.
“We brought him for a walk,” thinking a little air and activity could help, Lori said. “But he wasn’t able to walk back. We didn’t know it, but he was going into heart failure.”
Their trip to the ER revealed that Aiden was experiencing acute heart failure. The surgeon inserted ventricular assist devices in both the left and right lower chambers of Aiden’s heart, which stabilized the heart and kept it pumping, but required him to stay connected to medical machinery. The doctors moved swiftly to recommend Aiden for a heart transplant.
Aiden was added officially to the transplant list five days later. It was a Wednesday afternoon, Lori recalled.
“By that evening, they had a heart for him,” she said.
Someone had died less than 24 hours earlier and doctors thought that person’s heart could be a perfect match. By Thursday at 8 p.m., Aiden was being wheeled down for transplant surgery.
“We were praying and asking God to heal his old heart,” said Lori. “The possibility of a new heart wasn’t even on our radar. God answered our prayer in a completely different way than we expected.”
With their son in such a weakened state, the Saunders were afraid, said Lori. But they leaned into their faith, knowing God was in charge.
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Caption: Aiden Saunders (center) will celebrate the first anniversary with his new heart March 16. In this photo, he poses with his pastor, Father Joseph Marquis, his parents, Bill and Lori, and his three sisters in front of the icon screen at Sacred Heart Parish Feb. 10. (Photo: Marianne Nagrant)
As published in Horizons, March 3, 2019.
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