SEVEN LAKES, N.C. — After months of waiting in a Charlotte hospital, four-year-old Sofia Volz has received the heart transplant her family had been hoping and praying for.
Sofia was born in May 2022 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare and severe congenital heart defect. She underwent her first open-heart surgery within 36 hours of birth and later received a second operation at Duke University Hospital.
Her family eventually learned that Sofia would need a heart transplant. She remained hospitalized at Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte while waiting for a donor heart to become available.
That long wait recently ended. Sofia’s transplant operation was completed on her younger brother’s second birthday, making the occasion even more meaningful for her family.
Within days of surgery, Sofia was taken off her breathing tube and nearly all medication drips. Her mother, Angelica Volz, said Sofia also walked an entire lap around the hospital unit with a friend who is awaiting a transplant.
If her recovery and medication levels continue progressing well, her family hopes Sofia could return home within a matter of weeks. Sofia is reportedly looking forward to riding around in the family’s golf cart again.
The Volz family is also using Sofia’s journey to raise awareness about organ donation and the children and adults who remain on transplant waiting lists.
Reporting Source: Sandhills Sentinel Photo and video via the Volz family.
