Riverlyn’s journey to Boston Children’s Hospital was anything but simple. It took three heart surgeries and 18 months before she was finally cleared to travel for a procedure that only Boston Children’s could perform.
Born with Shone’s Complex, Riverlyn received a mechanical valve when she was just a few months old. Unfortunately, her body did not tolerate the valve well and it ultimately caused more harm than good. Determined to find a better solution, her family sought help from Boston Children’s Hospital. Their team worked closely with Riverlyn’s local hospital, guiding them through the first surgery of its kind performed there. During that procedure, Riverlyn received a bioprosthetic Melody valve in the mitral position.
While this brought significant improvement, Riverlyn still wasn’t thriving the way everyone had hoped. It became clear that the best path forward was to bring her to Boston.
At 18 months old, Riverlyn traveled from North Carolina to Boston via medical jet for her third open-heart surgery. Her procedure, performed by Dr. Emani, was a success. He performed a muscular resection to reposition her Melody valve and also closed a ventricular septal defect (VSD).
Riverlyn’s family shares: “The day Live4Evan let us know they had space available, the biggest piece of the puzzle fell into place for our family. We were able to coordinate everything immediately. Not only were we deeply grateful for the accommodation—we truly needed it. After her successful surgery and discharge, an issue arose in the middle of the night. Because we were so close to the hospital, I was able to carry Riverlyn back on foot. The team quickly resolved the issue, and we were discharged again with renewed hope and inexpressible gratitude for an organization that made our entire experience possible.”
We are honored to have provided Riverlyn’s family with housing during such a critical time. Thank you to our sponsors and donors for making stories like Riverlyn’s possible.
