The American Heart Association shares the incredible story of young American Zayne McCall who was born with multiple defects of the cardiovascular system. Swimming helped him through the hardships.
- According to the French Federation of Cardiology, congenital heart anomalies concern 5 out of 1,000 births.
- This risk rises to 45 per 1,000 if one of the parents was himself a carrier.
Zayne McGall is a miracle. While when he was born, the nursing staff feared that he would not make it through the night, he is now 22 years old and has joined the competitive swimming club at his university. His medical journey is particularly difficult.
His childhood was dotted with serious pathologies
He was born with six heart defects, including a pulmonary venous return defect, a rare defect that represents 1-2% of congenital heart defects and in which the blood returns to the right side of the heart instead of the left side.
Zayne also featured “a complete defect of the atrioventricular canal, or a hole in the center of its heart, and pulmonary atresia, where the valve that controls blood flow from the heart to the lungs does not form“, can we read in MedicalXPress which tells his story.
His misadventures unfortunately do not stop there since Zayne was diagnosed with heterotaxy syndromewhich corresponds to an anomaly in the positioning of organs in the thorax and abdomen during fetal development.
“Zayne’s intestines were tied into a ball at birth. He was also born without a spleen and without a gallbladder.“, describes Medical XPress. He had to undergo three open heart operations between his 24 hours and his 18 months.
Hypothyroidism, brain tumor… the health problems are linked
And the trials continue: as a teenager, Zayne was diagnosed with primary ciliary dyskinesia. Primary ciliary dyskinesia or primary ciliary dyskinesia is a rare inherited condition that can cause lung, eye or sinus infections: the cilia, or hair-like structures in the lungs that clear debris from the airways, are not properly formed.
Zayne had to deal with other health issues including hypothyroidism which is the inability of the thyroid gland to produce enough thyroid hormones. Its dysfunction affects the major functions of the body, indicates theHealth Insurance.
In high school, doctors discovered a benign brain tumor. The medical team caring for him also recently mentioned early signs of liver damage and they have implanted a pacemaker as his heart rate does not increase as it should during exercise.
Heart defects: Swimming helped him feel like everyone else
Throughout these ordeals, which have impacted his mental health as well, Zayne’s parents have been by his side. “It takes a little time to see the beauty of where you are“said his mother, Debbie.”But I wouldn’t change a minute“. To the parents of children with heart defects, she sends a message: “never give up“.
It was his mother who enrolled Zayne in a swimming club which helped him a lot, he testifies: “Unlike other sports, swimming allowed me to catch up with children my age. Swimming was one of the few places where I felt like the conditions and difficulties I had didn’t really matter“.
Today, he is moving forward with his passions and his projects and is a great lesson in determination: “What worries me is time. What is my life expectancy? It’s a huge question mark. I ask myself, “What can I do today? What can I do now to get to where I want to be? It’s about taking the next step forward.”
