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Family First: Heart Transplant

Posted Wednesday, September 30, 2009 --- 4:17 a.m.

We have an incredibly touching story involving the heart of a little boy - literally.

Vincent Forseth, from Mazomanie, was born with two holes in his heart.

Doctors repaired them and he spent six years like any other child - healthy and active.

But then, out of nowhere, Vincent got sick.

These days, Terry and Dawn Forseth are using cards to work with their son, 10-year-old Vincent, on his multiplication.

But three years ago, the family was shocked by the news they got when they thought Vincent had a bad case of the flu.

"They found that his heart was hardly pumping at all. Normally it would be going this, but it was barely beating."

They were taken over to Milwaukee Children's Hospital, and put on the heart transplant list right away.

Within a week, they had Vincent on a mechanical heart, which helped him gain strength before a heart became available.

"Within probably weeks, we had the perfect heart. Within a week and a half we were out of the hospital."

It was one week before Vincent's seventh birthday.

Since then, he's been amazingly active and healthy, playing soccer, basketball, football, you name it.

The hospital can't tell the Forseth family who the heart came from, but they do allow the recipient's family to write a letter, given to the donor family a year later.

" We never did hear back from them, not that we expected to, but we wanted them to know that we appreciated it. It was a hard letter to write."

The Children's hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee is holding a fundraiser here for the children in our area who battle a serious heart condition.

98 percent of pediatric heart surgeries in the state are done there.

The event is called "Push Pull or Pedal" and it's this coming Saturday, October 3rd.

Come out with your strollers, wagons, bikes, any kind of wheels, at the Dream park in Monona.

There are two routes, one mile or eleven.


Comments (2)

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  • by Joh Doe Location: Madison on Oct 1, 2009 at 12:19 PM
    I don't think I watched the same clip as Anon. I saw nothing telling me these people are wealthy and did not hear any doctor's names mentioned. This just seemed like a nice story about a boy and his family that went through a terrible ordeal and are doing well today.
  • by Anon Location: Madison on Sep 30, 2009 at 10:41 AM
    the sky is no limit when you can afford to have something done and/or the doctors are more interested in having their names over the news for bragging rights

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