Dalton Igoe age 17
HEART DEFECTS
17-year-old Dalton was life-flighted to Children’s
from Altoona three days after he was born, where
doctors discovered his heart had six congenital
heart defects. At eight days old, Dalton endured
his first open heart surgery to start the process of re-plumbing his heart. In
total, he had four open heart surgeries before the age of five. During his early
years, Dalton had numerous heart catheterizations, received a pacemaker, and
lost most of the function in his left lung due to blood clots. When he was in
fifth grade, things started to take a turn for the worse. He wasn’t growing and
his health was rapidly declining. Doctors determined that he would need a
heart transplant in February 2012. That May, Dalton and his family received the
call they had been hoping for – there was a heart ready for him! It’s been two
years since Dalton’s transplant and he is healthy and growing. He recently got
his driver’s permit and loves playing baseball and enjoying every moment as a
teenager.