Nearly 40 years ago, Eddie Anguiano was born with a severe heart defect. His mother was told to choose whether to let him die in the hospital, or at home.
Now, he’s celebrating his 40th birthday with the team that saved his life.
8 of the 9 members from the team, including Anguiano’s mother Maria Aguirre, held a panel to share their experiences from that day.
Anguiano's mother, Maria Aguirre, shared her memory of the surgery.
“We just said, hey, we're going to trust God and see what happens, you know. And if he wants it done, it's going to get done. The chaplain, I remember the chaplain coming into the room with updates. And it took a long time to get the operation done, but it got done. It was amazing when Dr. Bailey finally came out and said, his heart started on its own.”
Dr.Leonard Bailey was the pediatric heart surgeon who performed the life saving operation on Anguiano. Bailey passed away in 2019, and he was remembered during the event.
Since Anguiano’s surgery, Loma Linda has performed over 500 pediatric heart transplants.
