Staff photo by Bethany Hart
From left to right, the Sanchez family: Karina, 8, Ian, 4, Harold, Alanna, 5, Sophia, 2, and Stacey.
Sanchez family knows their son's the real champ By BETHANY HART
Staff Writer
One little Washington C.H. boy has something in common with a celluloid hero.
"He has a new infatuation with Rocky and Ian says 'I'm the little guy, but I'm a fighter and I'm a champ,'" said Stacey Sanchez.
Stacey and Harold Sanchez are the parents of four children, one of which has dealt with more in his short life than most deal with in a lifetime.
"By 3 months, Ian had beat every one of my life's accomplishments," said Harold.
Ian, now 4, had a heart transplant when he was just 3 months old.
"Ian was born normal," said Harold. "Then when we were visiting family, we noticed he was really pale. He was about 3 months old."
The Sanchezs knew something was wrong, so they took him to a hospital Emergency Room which, as usual, was full of people. His parents told the nurse about Ian's symptoms and they were rushed back to see the doctor immediately.
"As soon as they took us in, they brought in a cardiologist and he started looking with an X-Ray machine and if I remember correctly he took a lot time," said Harold. "That gave us a clue that something was going on."
A virus had attacked Ian's heart, causing congestive heart failure. It also caused his heart to swell considerably.
"Basically he said Ian's heart was three times the size of a little kid," said Harold. "If you could imagine a golf ball his was the size of three of them."
His left ventricle was enlarged which meant the heart was receiving blood, but had difficulty pumping it out.
Ian was kept in the hospital while doctors pumped Ian full of medicine to try and decrease the heart's swelling. None of the medicines worked and the Sanchezs were advised a transplant may be needed to save the little boy's life.
"It was really scary to hear that," said Harold.
The Sanchez's began praying and asking God to heal their son without the transplant.
Meanwhile, Ian was moved down to the intensive care unit where he was surrounded on all sides by children with his same condition.
"We got him there on a Monday morning, by Monday night the baby on the left of Ian had passed away. Wednesday night the baby on the right went home to be with the Lord, that was even tougher because we had gotten closer with the family" said Harold. "By Friday night the baby across from us, and I was there to witness what happened, had passed away."
By the second week, doctors were still trying to use medicine to shrink Ian's heart so that it could pump out blood, but none of the medications were working. Harold and Stacey were told to consider a heart transplant.
"How do you ask for a heart?" said Harold. "I can't donate a heart. If he needed a kidney, I could have given him that."
Just four days after placing Ian on the transplant list, Harold received a call from his wife at 4 a.m. saying doctors had found Ian a heart.
"I flew to Columbus," said Harold. "Well I mean, not really-but I drove pretty fast."
The Sanchezs and doctors were amazed at how immediate the changes in Ian were once he received the heart.
"It was like a burst of life was given to him," said Harold.
Following the surgery, Ian had to be opened up again to relieve some fluid and needed a blood transfusion but he pushed through all of the complications.
"Now we have taken the mission of trying to share with people the importance of being an organ donor," said Harold.
Ian is featured in a campaign launched by Donate Life Ohio called the 2010 Green Chair Campaign. Local celebrities and "some not so everyday Ohioans" share their stories in hopes that even more Ohioans will sign up for organ, eye and tissue donation. The chair represents a life saved when its full and a life lost when it's pictured empty.
The Sanchezs were contacted in November to participate in the campaign and have appeared in radio and TV ads to raise awareness.
"My wife Stacey also puts together care packages for families going through the same thing we did," said Harold.
Ian still has a lot to endure. He has biopsies every year and there is a possibility he will need another transplant because his heart is only expected to work for 8-14 years.
"Most people think it's because the heart doesn't grow with him and that's not true," said Stacey. "It's because of the scar tissue caused by the medicine."
So far, Ian is living a full life and loves to play with anything related to John Deere Tractors and construction equipment, especially his backhoe and remote control crane. He loves to help his dad outside with his own weed eater, mower, and a hedger is soon to come, all toys of course.
"He loves to throw a football, kick a soccer ball, and even wrestle," said Harold.
Doctors have advised he may not be able to play contact sports, but may be able to as long as he is monitored closely.
"We would not have any of this if it wasn't for a family who in the midst of their own grief said yes to organ donation," said Stacey. "That saved our son's life."
The Sanchez's sent a letter to their donor's family but have yet to meet them or hear back from them.
Ian has the opportunity to make a wish from the Make a Wish Foundation.
"We were thinking Disney, but Ian really wants to meet Rocky," said Stacey.
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