A courageous life
Inspiration can be found in our corridors, the following is an account of a courageous boy in our Junior Prep. Read Caleb Thomas' story
1 in every 100 children are born with congenital heart defects.
I was one of them… I was born on the 9th of March 2010 at 1.4kg
and I was diagnosed with Atrial Ventricular Septal Defect, Dextrocardia,
Pulmonary Atresia and Situs Inversis. In every-day terms, I was born with
an extremely complex heart defect, with my heart having only 3
chambers (not 4), my pulmonary arteries were not properly formed
and not properly attached to the heart and lungs. My heart was situated on
the right side of my chest (and not the left) and my other major internal
organs were all on the wrong sides of my body and in some cases, back to front!
I am a true medical phenomenon and a MIRACLE from God! I have conquered
several heart procedures amongst which were two major open heart
surgeries. I am meant to have at-least one other open heart surgery
however, to have this operation, I must pass strict requirements and
at this stage, I have not. This may mean that one day, I will need a new heart!
Sadly, not enough people and hardly any children have been
registered as heart donors. I know that God will make a way
for me one day when he decides it’s time for me to get my
new heart! Today is my HAPPY HEART DAY. All heart warriors
celebrate the anniversary of their very first open heart surgery and
today is the anniversary of mine! Please will you think of me today and
spare a thought for my other heart buddies who have lost their fight
due to the lack of organ donors – and honour them today by registering yourself
and your children as organ donors! I am only 6 years old and I have seen first-hand
how hard all the heart warriors fight – it is not an easy battle. It is scary and
painful and I have lost a number of friends to this battle already!
Although my journey has been hard, I feel extremely blessed that
God has chosen Me and my family to travel this journey. Our lives have been
touched by kindness and faithfulness and it has been a true honour to
witness the determination by my fellow heart warriors to continue to be happy
and faithful no matter how hard their struggle is! I am proud of everything
I have overcome and I wear my scars with pride!
For those of you who continue to keep me and my heart
buddies in your prayers, I am eternally grateful – and to those of
you who feel moved to register as organ donors today – God Bless You!
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:13
CALEB JAMES THOMAS
