Nearly 16 years ago, Mike and Kip Chance – then both near 70 years old – were already parents to a 49-year-old son and a 43-year-old daughter. They made the selfless decision to take in and eventually adopt their great-nephew, Will. The Chance family took in Will when he was just four weeks old and officially adopted him as their youngest son when he was 18 months old.
“He’s been my baby ever since,” said Will’s mother, Kip.
Will Chance is the youngest-ever heart transplant recipient St. Vincent has served. (Photo provided)
In many ways, Will is a typical 16-year-old who has bedroom walls covered in posters and enjoys playing video games online. Will also loves history, especially military history, and has a mind loaded with trivia facts about World Wars I and II.
Will began having some stomach issues in the summer of 2016. After a second trip to the emergency room, an abdominal CT scan was done and they discovered his heart was grossly enlarged. On June 27, 2016, just 12 days after his 14th birthday, Will was diagnosed with severe cardiomyopathy as a result of an unknown virus attacking his heart. It is not known what the virus was or how long ago he contracted it. When the heart damage was discovered, his heart function was at 15 percent and it took up one-third of his chest. While in the PICU at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital he went into full cardiac arrest, suffered a stroke and had a defibrillator/pacemaker placed.
During his 18-day hospital stay at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital, Will ‘coded’ and was then revived. During that time, he also suffered an acute stroke caused by a blood clot that blocked blood flow in his brain and left him paralyzed on his right side and unable to speak. Due to the care he received and blood thinners, the blood clot that went to his brain and caused his stroke to eventually dissipate. Will soon regained full motion and speech. After he survived the stroke, doctors began taking the necessary steps to secure a healthy heart for Will.
“Thank God for Salerno,” said Kip, referring to St. Vincent cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Christopher Salerno. “Salerno came in to discuss the heart pump option as a bridge to transplant because doctors didn’t think Will’s original heart would make it long enough to wait for a heart transplant.”
A few months later, in September of 2016, 14-year-old Will became the youngest patient at St. Vincent to receive a mechanical heart pump.
At first, Will was adamant he didn’t want a heart transplant. But after giving it more thought, he decided he just wanted to feel normal again without carrying around a heart pump. Will’s family notified Dr. Ravichandran of his decision to proceed with steps to find a new heart and Will was put on the list.
A few months ago, on Sept. 21, 2018, Will became the first pediatric patient at St. Vincent and Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital to receive a heart transplant.
The Chance family’s home phone rang a few days earlier on Sept. 18, 2018 at 8:20 p.m.
“We saw ‘Anonymous’ show up on the TV screen when the phone rang that night,” said Kip. “Will was playing on his computer with his headset on at the time. My husband and I knew this was ‘the call’.” Kip and Mike spoke to the voice on the other and then took the phone to Will’s room. Kip removed Will’s headset and handed him the phone.
Kip described the scene: “Will answered the phone in a very unexcited tone and said, ‘Hello?’ That’s when his cardiologist, Dr. Ashwin Ravichandran, told him, ‘I have some awesome news for you … We found you the perfect heart!’ To which Will said [still with an unfazed Ben Stein-like tone], ‘Really? How cool.’ Of course, at that point, Mike and I are bumping into each other with excitement.”
Will was only on the list for two weeks. Five days before he got the transplant, his case was lifted from a 1B (with the pump) to a 1A since he was a pediatric case – which helped to shorten his wait time.
On the day of his operation, the medical team asked him, “Will, do you know why you’re here?” Will said, “Yeah … I’m going to have a minor procedure done.” Everyone in the room chuckled.
Will’s parents – who are admittedly overprotective – explained to him the risks of the procedure and the very real possibility he may not make it through the operation. Will told his mom and dad, ‘It’s like this: If I wake up and see the doctors, you and Dad, I’ll know I’m in a good place. And if I wake up in heaven in the arms of Jesus, then I’ll also know I’m in a good place.”
His mother teared up as she concluded, “Faith and prayer are what got us through this.”
What was expected to be a 12-hour surgery only ended up lasting about seven hours. It was over so soon that his parents were initially worried when they saw his surgeon, Dr. Salerno, approach them in the waiting area. He put their minds at ease.
“Dr. Salerno came in and said everything went great and that Will’s new heart was perfect,” said Kip.
Will is recovering at home where he has home school during the week. He is currently on 30 medications, three of which are immunosuppressants to help his body adjust to its new blood-pumping organ. Visitors must continue to sanitize hands when interacting with him to prevent any infections that could threaten his health with his new heart.