HOUSTON -- Tomorrow will mark a special Thanksgiving for the Remington family. But then, they have all been special since November 1984, when Sara Remington became the first infant in the world to successfully receive a new heart.
Today, she is the longest surviving pediatric heart transplant patient.
Ten years after her surgery, Sara is thriving. In fact, the fifth grader at Alvin Elementary School in suburban Alvin was turning cartwheels during a news conference sponsored by the Texas Heart Institute and Texas Children's Hospital.
The youngster quickly overcame momentary shyness to mug for the cameras, describe her doctors as "old geezers" and proclaim that pizza is her favorite food.
Dr. Denton Cooley and Dr. O.H. Frazier performed that first surgery when Sara, now 10, was 8 months old. Dr. Cooley remembers his own misgivings. "It would have been on my conscience forever if it had failed," he said.
Within 48 hours of the surgery, Dr. Cooley noted, "Sara was sitting up in her mother's arms and laughing."
Sara was born Feb. 7, 1984, a seemingly healthy infant. But when she was 6 months old, she developed a respiratory ailment. She was sent to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, where doctors discovered an enlarged heart.
Slowly, her heart began to lose its elasticity and struggled to continue beating. Dr. Frazier remembers that it had already stopped three times by the time a donor was found on Nov. 1, 1984.
Dr. Tim Bricker, a children's heart specialist, worried about how much of the anti-rejection drug cyclosporine he could give her. She continues to take the drug, but the doses are small, Dr. Bricker said.
Doctors worried that Sara would not grow well because of the drug's effect on her immune system.
Today she is a small child, but her growth curve is normal, Dr. Bricker said. "From her, we learned about the potential for success," he said.
The Remingtons, meanwhile, are preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving in Mexia, Texas, where Sara's grandmother lives.
Sara's mother, Jane Remington, remembers that her daughter was in the hospital for her first Thanksgiving. The second one was special, because Sara was home. And each successive one has been special for the same reason.