The Bridge to a New Heart

ATLANTA -- Yassir Yesuf's lifeline is written across his tiny chest. Scars show he's a fighter even before his first birthday. Before the medicine and before the surgery, Yassir was simply a much-anticipated baby boy.

"This is my first boy, because I have two girls, and I was so happy!" His father, Yesef Melkamu gushed.

On September 14th, Yassir's parents heard a rasping noise on the baby monitor. He was having difficulty breathing.

"We took him to the emergency room," his mother Tigist Ebrhim said. "We knew it was serious."

In just a few hours, they had the diagnosis: he was suffering from heart failure. When Tigist asked the ER nurse how bad it was, she replied "It's 50/50. He might not make it."

The family braced for a life without their baby boy. "I was hopeless, but at the same time, I said, God is with me, I'm going to go pray," Tigist remembers. "There is always a miracle."

At Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Dr. Kirk Kanter was preparing for just such a miracle. The pediatric cardiac surgeon was waiting at the edge of a medical breakthrough."The fact that he [Yassir} was waiting deteriorating to the point where he needed this artificial mechanical support is testimony to the fact that we don't have enough donors," Dr. Kanter said.

Doctors worried Yassir might die while waiting for a transplant. They needed more time. "The problem is, we don't have devices small enough for a child his size," Dr. Kanter explained.

There is one device; it's called the Berlin Heart. The artificial heart sits outside the body and temporarily replaces a bad heart. The Food and Drug Administration gave the hospital special permission to implant the mechanical heart in Yassir. It was the first surgery of its kind in Georgia.

It was a success.

"I was just crying the whole time, and I said, let's just pray," Tigist wipes away tears. "And here he is!" here he is."

The Yesef family's home video shows the Berlin heart beating like a real heart, pumping blood through Yassir's tiny body. He is already improving.

The Berlin Heart is not meant to be permanent. It is a bridge between seriously ill heart patients and transplant surgery. The Yesef family crossed that bridge earlier than expected.

On December 2nd, they received a phone call. They found a heart donor. "At first I was happy, like you buy a heart from a store," Tigist said, "but then I was sad for the baby that died."

Yassir is covered with bandages and tubes. He's swollen and groggy from the anesthesia. For the first time, he has a health heart. His family knows, their boy lived when someone else's died. "If there was a bigger word than thank you, I wish I could find it," his mother said.

There is another thank you to deliver. 11 Alive News met the Yesuf family at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Egelston. It's the first time they've seen Dr. Kanter since the surgery.

"Say hi, Yassir!" His mom says as she waved his plump little first.

"Oh! He's a big boy!" Dr. Kanter says and he takes Yassir. 'When you see him, he's a pretty normal little boy now."

The surgery Dr. Kanter performed that saved Yassir will save other little lives. It's a legacy they now share.