Jaylyn had a heart transplant

Jaylyn was a perfectly normal, footy-loving 17-year-old when he started feeling a bit out of breath. While local doctors blamed asthma, one night his mum Ari felt something wasn’t right and took him to a nearby emergency department.  

Tests showed his heart was inflamed and he was transferred to the Prince Charles Hospital where he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle. At this point, Jaylyn’s condition worsened. 

‘Things went downhill really fast and before I knew it, I was being prepped to have a heart assist device (known as a VAD) implanted in my chest,’ he said. ‘That was the worst surgery, the worst of times really. And that’s when the doctors said they really needed to find me a new heart.’ 

Although his family was in a state of shock, they were still hopeful the VAD device would stabilise him. Unfortunately, it didn’t. Jaylyn’s heart had doubled in size and was too weak to circulate blood. Cardiac surgeons connected him to last-resort medical technology known as ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygen) while an urgent nation-wide call went out for a donor heart. 

In just a few weeks, Jaylyn had gone from being a perfectly healthy teenager to his life hanging in the balance. He said later it was indescribable, knowing that somewhere else another family would lose the battle for their loved one’s life, for him to survive.  

‘Like, I’ve no idea how you say thank you for something like this, how to even start,’ he said.  

Jaylyn’s transplant surgery took over 7 hours, and doctors marvelled at how inflated his heart had become. His recovery was mercifully uneventful. Two weeks post-transplant, he was discharged back into his family’s arms – weak with relief to have a second chance at a normal life. 

Today, 22-year-old Jaylyn is strong and healthy, and has started a street clothing business aptly named 2ndChnc. He regularly volunteers for DonateLife in honour of his generous donor.