'It's great to be eight'

It's great to be eight for the precocious second-grader Luke McKay Cowdell, a member of the Summer Grove Ward, Fayetteville Georgia Stake. He had been looking forward to his baptism for over a year. This was a day his parents, Aaron and Jenny, weren't sure would ever come. Luke was born Oct. 16, 2003, with hypo-plastic left heart syndrome, a congenital heart defect that required a heart transplant when he was a week old.

When Luke's pediatrician checked him not long after birth a heart murmur was discovered. A pediatric cardiologist was called to check on Luke and planned to come the next morning. Late that night the cardiologist was called to the hospital for another child who turned out to be okay. While there he checked Luke instead of making another trip back the next day. After the diagnosis was determined, Luke was transported in the early hours of the morning to Children's Health Care of Atlanta at Egleston — about 50 miles away.

The doctor checking on Luke earlier than planned was one of many miracles that surrounded Luke's transplant.

Prayers were said and Jenny was asked by one of the nurses if she knew that his name was on the prayer list at the Methodist Church. Aaron and Jenny later found out that his name was on the prayer list in several LDS temples and many other church denominations.

His parents never asked for a heart when they prayed for Luke because they didn't want another child to lose his life to save theirs. They always prayed and asked others to pray for the Lord's will to be done.

The hospital asked for pictures of the family to put in Luke's bed — a picture of Christ was added to those of his parents and four older siblings. At Children's Health Care of Atlanta at Egleston, Luke's parents were given hope that a procedure could be done to fix his heart. The surgery would make the right side of his heart do all the work by reconstructing the main pulmonary artery. After some testing it was discovered that Luke's valve was deformed, leaking and couldn't be used. A transplant was the only option.

Certain criteria had to be met before he could be added to the transplant list. The process began when he was three days old. His parents had to talk to social workers and doctors. Luke had to go through testing to see if he would be a candidate for the transplant.

A new type of transplant, ABO Incompatible, was suggested to Aaron and Jenny. This is where a cross blood groups transplant is done. If a young child doesn't have any antibodies he or she can receive an organ from any blood type donor. Luke's was the first at Children's and the second in the United States to be done. He is O-positive and the donor was A-positive. When his parents agreed to the procedure he was put on the top of the transplant list.

Luke's story is linked with the story of another baby, named Gavin, who was born without brain function two days after Luke was born. Gavin was placed on life support because his parents wanted his four-year-old brother to bond with him before letting him go.

Luke was given a baby's blessing and a name in the Church by his father, who was assisted by both grandfathers, Randy Cowdell and Tommy Craig, and his great-grandfather, John Williams. In his blessing he was promised he would be peaceful, have angels with him to comfort him, have no infections, have a strong body and a loving mother. One of Luke's nurses and one of his doctors assigned to him after his blessing were named Angel. Each day while doing rounds the doctors expected Luke to look worse, but he never did.

Aaron said he felt peace at this time knowing that no matter what happened, they were sealed together as a family. He also understood the Lord's asking of the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham and a little of what Abraham felt.

Each time a medical decision was made for Luke, Gavin's parents also made a decision for Gavin that affected Luke in some way. On the morning that Luke was a week old, and just two days after his name was put on the transplant list, Gavin's parents decided to let their son go.

Luke's parents received the news that a heart had been found late that afternoon and the transplant was done during the night ending early the next morning. After his surgery his white cell count dropped too low to fight off infection. He was placed in isolation for a week without infection. When asked about his heart by a newspaper reporter Luke replied, "Gavin's parents wanted to find somebody that was brave and good to give his heart to and they chose me."

Luke spent five and a half weeks in the hospital after the transplant, coming home just two days before Thanksgiving 2003. Thanksgiving that year was celebrated by Luke's big extended family giving thanks for the many miracles and blessings that he had received.

Today he is required to take meds twice a day and to have blood work done regularly along with his yearly biopsy.

Luke is a very active young boy who does back flips off the diving board, rides a bike and is willing to try just about anything. He corrects his classmates if they take the Lord's name in vain and tells them that Heavenly Father doesn't like that. He loves to bear his testimony at Church and to anyone who will listen to him.

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