Mariam was born with two forms of congenital heart disease – Ebstein's anomaly caused a leaky valve and cardiomyopathy caused an ill-formed right ventricle
TORONTO — Multiple heart surgeries and near-death experiences have earned 12-year-old Mariam Tannous the nickname Mariam Miracle, says her mom.
"She's a miracle. She's a strong girl. She loves life. She needs to be alive," says Antouan Adwar, describing a lively, active Grade 7 student who loves to swim, collect L.O.L. dolls and draw.She had open-heart surgery at the age of three and a heart transplant at age seven, but a steady decline at age 11 culminated in cardiac arrest in June 2021.
The procedure involves removing the heart's two main pumping chambers and replacing them with mechanical pumps that are surgically attached, explains Jeewa, head of the heart function program at SickKids. Then it was time to close and the reality of reverse-engineering a device meant for an adult came to the fore, he says. The cavity was covered with a temporary patch for five days until Mariam's body could adjust to the device and her blood pressure could stabilize.
A heart for Mariam became available two months later, leading to another challenge: removing the device and connecting what amounted to her third heart implant. Now there was more scarring at the site, and the too-large device had compressed a systemic vein, says Honjo.
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