OHIO — Every moment with Mikey is a miracle for mom Rachel Collins.
“It’s so exciting because I’m seeing him make these strides when all I’ve ever known is him just laying in a hospital bed and fighting for his life,” she said.
Mikey turns two in April and in his short life, he’s had eight surgeries, including a heart transplant at seven months old.
“The thought of another little one has to pass away in order for him to live, and that was a struggle for me,” she said.
He was born with an underdeveloped heart. Collins learned something was wrong early in her pregnancy.
“I’ve always described myself at that time as a time bomb. I just felt like my body was keeping him alive and healthy but once he was born he would have to figure out how to fight for himself. And his body would have to do the fighting and it made me a wreck,” said Collins.
After he was born, Mikey experienced several complications, including a serious stomach disease that required multiple surgeries. One operation removed a third of his colon.
Procedure after procedure deteriorated Mikey’s already weak heart.
Collins prepared for the worst.
“I was trying to figure out how to do a baby funeral. I didn’t know what was going to happen to him. He was very blue. Cold to the touch. He didn’t look well. He couldn’t even muster up the energy to cry,” she said.
Mikey’s heart transplant in Nov. 2021 saved his life.
And from the start, the Collins family has called him “Marvelous Mikey.”
They love seeing him bond with big sister Ella.
“The time he was in the hospital, which was close to 13 months, she only got to meet him about two times,” said Collins.
Now, the siblings are best friends.
“He loves his sissy,” she said.
After the transplant, Mikey went to rehab. Occupational and speech therapy are helping him meet all the milestones he missed out on while in the hospital.
“He didn’t sit up. He didn’t crawl. He can’t suck. He missed the window to suck so that he could feed,” said Collins.
Seeing him eat and crawl today is huge, according to his mom. A device helps teach Mikey how to stand.
“I’m seeing his personality come out. And the happiness where he can go where he wants to and not be strapped down with tubes and wires. He’s free,” she said.
Collins said she remembers being told all the things her son wouldn’t be able to do because of his heart defect, and now she can’t wait to see what he does do with his hopefully long and happy life.
“And so if Mikey wants to go play professional football or, you know, be a professional scuba diver, whatever he decides to do, it’s up to him and he is able to do it,” said Collins.
Mikey got his heart transplant the same day as another Cleveland Clinic Children’s patient, Evan Culp.
It was the first time two pediatric heart transplants happened simultaneously at the hospital.
Mikey and Evan’s families have formed a special bond. Collins calls Mikey and Evan “heart twins.”
Both are grateful for the gift of life that gave their sons a chance to grow up.
