In April 2025, Riki – Juliana’s mom – attended the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation’s (ISHLT) Annual Scientific Conference in Boston. She was there as a board member of Transplant Families, an organization that supports and advocates for pediatric transplant families like her own.
The first event Riki attended at ISHLT was the ACTION Spotlight: Igniting Cardiac Innovation session in which medical device companies were sharing innovation on cardiac devices being created or used for pediatric patients. Riki heard a familiar voice in the crowd. It was Dr. Iki Adachi, the very surgeon who had procured Juliana’s donor heart back in 2014.
Riki glanced at her phone. The date: April 26th – exactly 11 years to the day that Dr. Adachi boarded a plane to retrieve the donor heart that would save Juliana’s life.
“From 4:30am on April 26th to 1:08am on April 27th, we stayed awake in hopes that this was the chance our daughter needed,” Riki remembered. “Dr. Adachi brought the gift of life back to Texas Children’s to save our precious baby girl.”
The following evening, Riki attended the Pediatric Heart Transplant Society (PHTS) Spring Annual Meeting, where she was unexpectedly seated next to Dr. William Dreyer, Juliana’s longtime transplant cardiologist. In 2014, it was Dr. Dreyer who had made the decision to move forward with accepting the donor heart for Juliana – just hours before her transplant began.
“To be sitting next to him 11 years to the day after he made that decision – it was surreal,” Riki said. “I’ll never forget it.”
Juliana received her transplant at Texas Children’s Hospital. At the time, she was the youngest patient to undergo heart transplant at the institution. She was born four weeks early with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, and her donor, Christopher, was nine days old.
Today, Juliana is 11 years old and thriving. She loves Barbies, princesses, horses, and makeup. She’s spirited, strong-willed, and full of personality – and continues to bring joy to everyone around her.
“It may not be the journey we planned for our children,” Riki reflected, “but it sure is a bright future when they are given the ultimate gift – the gift of life.”
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New to Juliana’s story? Read how it all began here.
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Riki would like to give special thanks to Transplant Families for sending her to ISHLT on their behalf, and a heartfelt thank you to the team that saved Juliana’s life, and especially to her donor, Christopher. It is Riki’s hope that by being a volunteer patient advocate for pediatric transplant recipients she can be a voice for the children and families who are starting their journeys towards transplant life.
