FORT WORTH, Texas _ Lisa Robinson had to decide if, in the event her daughter's failing heart gave out, she wanted to donate her good organs to children whose lives could depend on them.
It was a "hard conversation" for the mother to have, forcing her to consider the possibility her then-7-year-old daughter, Riley Robinson, wouldn't make it. At the same time Lisa, 38, knew somewhere out there, another family could be having the same discussion that could save Riley's life.
Riley, the second-oldest of four girls, caught a cold in November 2018 that persisted for weeks, even as her sisters came down with the same virus and it quickly passed. Lisa brought Riley in to her personal physician one day and an X-ray revealed a surprising discovery _ her heart was failing. In clinical terms, she had dilated cardiomyopathy, or an enlarged heart with less power to pump blood.
She spent about seven months living at Children's Medical Center Dallas waiting for her turn for a transplant, with devices implanted inside of her doing the work her heart couldn't. Lisa ultimately decided she had to list Riley as an organ donor for all the girls and boys who knew exactly what she was going through.
Since Riley, 8, had her transplant operation in May, Lisa has felt a deep appreciation for _ and a connection to _ the family of the 11-year-old girl whose heart beats inside of her daughter's chest.
"You're loving somebody else more than yourself at that moment," Lisa said. "It's what love is, right?"
David Sutcliffe, who was part of Riley's team of pediatric oncologists at Children's Medical Center, said the operation went well and Riley's body accepted the new organ. "She is very strong, and that was very evident," he said.
After missing most of last school year, Riley was able to return in the fall to Calvary Christian Academy, where her favorite subjects are math and science. The second-grader usually has enough energy when she's done with school to play basketball with her sisters or have NERF gun fights.
"I'm glad that I have it," Riley said of her new heart. "But at the same time, I'm sorry they lost whoever they had."
Almost 10 months after receiving her life-saving transplant operation, Riley and her family are sharing their story to let people know the challenges faced by children who have heart failure, and that it's not as uncommon as some might think.
Sutcliffe, who also serves as a pediatric oncologist UT Southwestern Medical Center, said each year across the country there are around 14,000 admissions for heart failure in children. Though the defect is far more common in adults whose lifestyle factors can play a contributing role, he said, children with heart failure make up a large patient population that is "quite complex."
Inside of Riley, Sutcliffe said, there was an error in her genetic code she had likely been living with her whole life that was triggered when she got her viral infection.
He was on the team of oncologists at Children's Medical Center Dallas who took on Riley's case when she was admitted with what they call "end-stage heart failure."
He and other doctors watched her, week after week and month after month, put up with the invasive devices and a cocktail of daily medications. They watched her maintain her goofy sense of humor, spraying silly string at medical staff and on one occasion even tee-peeing the nurse practitioner's office with toilet paper and shaving cream.
They watched her smile her way through a time where the future was uncertain.
"Her strength and will and drive and just pushing through this entire course _ which was by no means easy _ is just a testament to what a wonderful child she is," Sutcliffe said.
