Infant Desperately Needs Heart
Officials Say Newborn Donors Are Rare
POSTED: Tuesday, May 4, 2004
The pediatric intensive care unit has become home for Lisa Ziff as her baby girl, Shay, is fighting for her life."She's had a rough life, but she is a trooper," said Ziff.
Shay was born three months ago, five weeks premature. She didn't cry at birth and was put on a ventilator for what doctors thought were undeveloped lungs."I think the hardest thing to watch is your child suffer and you not being able to do a thing about it," said Ziff.More problems arose after doctors determined the child had a heart condition -- restrictive cardiomyopathy.Shay (pictured, left) was airlifted by University of Michigan's Survival Flight to Mott Children's Hospital, where she's been staying every since, waiting in need of a new heart."If Shay doesn't receive a heart, she won't survive," said Jennifer Alberts, a nurse at Mott.Wednesday will mark three weeks since Shay was put on the waiting list."Every day I wake up and say, 'That wasn't a dream, it's true.' It's such a surreal feeling," said Ziff.But for infants, the possibility of finding a heart is small. The donor would need to be a newborn or small baby.Last week, doctors took desperate measures, placing Shay on a left ventricular assist device to act as her heart. With all the tubes and wires, Ziff can't dress her baby, so she puts bows in her hair. And even more devastating, she can't hold Shay."I would probably give up just about everything I have to hug her and let her know that everything's going to be OK," said Ziff. "I would pretty much do anything. I would give up my own heart if that was an option."But Ziff said she's not giving up hope for her child as everyone waits for good news.
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