Aiden's Page

06/07/2026

Four years ago today we sent Aiden off to the operating room for what we hoped would be a life saving miracle. We had so many emotions running through us. It was hard to process any of them. Aiden’s heart transplant surgery was more than 12 hours long and lasted throughout the entire night. When they were done, Aiden was in critical condition, tenuously walking the line, his body relying on a room full of machines to keep him alive. From there he suffered complication after complication, ultimately staying in the hospital three months. BUT step by step he moved forward slowly and steadily making his way into his new life. Now, four years later, Aiden is beating all the odds and showing up for life in so many amazing ways. We are incredibly thankful for all those who have impacted our family: our medical teams, families, friends, therapists, teachers, coworkers, classmates and most of all Aiden’s beautiful donor, Carrie and her family. Transplant life is tough and it’s not a cure. But it has given us the most precious gift of all, time. Time to learn and explore, grow and make friends, live and make memories. Time for more I love yous. We don’t take a single moment for granted. All

04/30/2026

Carrie’s, and her family’s choice has given Aiden almost four years of life with many more to come. Years of adventures, years of learning, years of hugs and I love yous. We could not be more grateful to have been entrusted to care for such a beautiful heart ❤️

Today is Donor Remembrance Day. 💙💚 Today and every day, the donation and transplant community comes together to honor and celebrate the donor heroes who have given the gift of life through organ, eye and tissue donation. We are sharing forget-me-not flowers to symbolize that donors and their legacy of generosity will always be remembered.
also honors donor families and serves as a reminder that they are always a part of the Donate Life community. Association of Organ Procurement Organizations - AOPO

04/15/2026

⭐️🎉 Cheers to 11!!🎉⭐️
I can not believe another year is in the books! Aiden has grown so much in so many ways this past year.

Fourth grade is flying by and he has made a lot of progress with his academics. While he is still not able to tolerate a full 5 day schedule, he continues to make gains and his teachers have nothing but positive things to say. His teachers and therapists work so hard to make school meaningful, joyful and accessible. Aiden also does outside tutoring with a fantastic organization that is really helping him catch up.

Aiden is busy with all sorts of activities including outpatient therapies where he continues to work on stroke recovery. He is also in Scouts which has been a really positive and fun experience so far. Aiden continues to do Tae Kwon Do and will have another best test this weekend! This winter Aiden made big gains on the slopes and is now skiing the blue hills! Of course we did some sledding and snowmobiling too over the winter.

We were able to do some traveling this winter as well. We spent an incredible week with family on a boat exploring the British Virgin Islands! It’s every bit as amazing as it sounds! Aiden was absolutely living his best life and we are so thankful for that experience! Over spring break we took a trip to the east coast. Aiden has been obsessed with seeing the Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay so we finally made that happen. Aiden was over the moon with excitement! First we stopped in Ohio and visited the Air Force museum and Hocking Hills.We also checked out the naval base at Norfolk, toured the USS Wisconsin, visited Baltimore, and did the Smithsonian in DC. It was a whirlwind trip!

Aiden will head down to UofM next month to see his transplant team and check on his hero heart. We are hopeful that we will be able to skip his heart cath this year if everything looks good with his imaging, exercise test and labs. Aiden still follows with a lot of doctors, has a lot of appointments, and requires a lot of care. Transplant life isn’t easy but we are incredibly thankful for this chance to LIVE! Thanks to the tireless work of scientists and researchers, the skill and compassion of his medical team, and the precious gift of life from Carrie May and her family, Aiden is living a full and joyful life! Not a day goes by that we are not reminded of how lucky we are. Aiden is our miracle. He is kind and funny, sweet yet mischievous, and full of adventure and fight. We are so very proud of him. ❤️🔥🫀

09/02/2025

Happy first day of 4th grade Aiden!!🎉

This summer flew by and we had so much fun! Aiden had his 15th heart catheterization in mid-June. Thankfully it was the best result he has had so far. While his heart function will likely never be normal- it has improved. Aiden has no signs of rejection, his EBV levels are stable, diuretics and a med change have improved his breathing/cough, and he feels so much better since coming off of a medicine that was causing profound hypoglycemia. We are incredibly thankful for his team and his donor family as here we are with more firsts, and more memories all because of them🫀❤️‍🔥

This summer was filled with family, friends and fun! Aiden participated in literacy camp and tutoring -making huge gains in academics! He also completed his third year in sailing camp!

We spent tons of time on the water and exploring beaches and shipwrecks. Aiden’s huge cardboard Titanic even won the regatta ! We did some traveling and camping and generally had an amazingly packed summer !!

I can’t believe he is off to 4th grade! Time is speeding up and as much as we love watching him grow, I miss the little boy he once was. We just know that he is going to continue to make us so proud in every way possible. We love you Aiden❤️❤️‍🔥