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WOODSTOCK — A year after receiving a heart transplant, Central High School senior Kamdon Fawdry still sees handmade signs that read “Come Strong” when he walks around campus.
“I was happy but scared,” the 17-year-old said of getting a new heart after being born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).
“We never lied to him,” said Faudrey's mother, Stephanie Imes. “Every surgery, every procedure he goes through, he knows what's going to happen. I never sugarcoated it. He knew his chances.”
Fordry may be a man of few words, but the words he chooses carry weight. He is grateful for his newfound blessings in life and finds peace in every moment.
“His comfort is my comfort,” Imes said through tears.
diagnosis
Mr Imes said Mr Fordry's HLHS was first discovered during a gender reveal appointment.
“They noticed something was wrong with his heart,” she said. “And he was immediately sent to UVA, where he was diagnosed with HLHS. The left side of the heart isn't working and doesn't form.”
She was advised that it might be better to terminate the pregnancy.
“That wasn't an option,” she said.
Fordry underwent the first of three surgeries two days after he was born. A second operation was then performed at 6 months of age and a third operation at 3 years of age.
“He got along very well with them,” Imes recalled. “But it started failing right after the third surgery.”
Because her body could no longer retain the protein, Fordry suffered from swelling and discomfort. His organs began to fail. At the age of 5, Mr. Fordry underwent emergency surgery to repair the damage caused by his third surgery.
“We were told to go home and make plans to not take him home. And even if he survived, he wouldn't have any quality of life.”
Six days later, Mr. Fordry returned home.
“That first day, we went from expecting to come home with empty car seats to playing in kindergarten,” Imes said.
But during his senior year of high school, when he was unable to remove excess fluid from his body, Fordry and his family decided it was time for a heart transplant. They waited for that contact for 309 days.
Before the phone call came, the family had already made a decision. If Mr. Fordry did not receive a call by Thanksgiving, he would be admitted to the hospital and placed on the transplant list.
“If he was at home, he would normally be listed as 2B, but because he met certain criteria, he was listed as 1B, which would normally indicate being hospitalized,” Imes said.
Before getting the life-changing phone call, Fordry recalled being in a personal finance class when he received what he called a “false alarm.”
It was September 8th.
“I got kicked out of class,” he said. “They retracted the heart.”
thanksgiving
At 4 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day 2023, Imes woke up to 12 missed calls from the University of Virginia Medical Center. The family had planned to go out of town for the holidays, but spent the night before at an urgent care facility.
“Kamdon wasn't feeling well,” Iams said, adding that he had put his phone on vibrate but hadn't turned it back on.
“I thought it was my sister, because I thought she would call me and ask if I was leaving yet,” she said.
Instead, I heard a voice on the phone saying: Are you ready to leave?
Imes recorded the moment as she went to wake her son.
“I wanted it to be very special,” she said with a smile. “I was like, 'Good morning!'” Wake up! you have a heart ”
“I was still sleepy, but I thought, 'Huh? I don’t know,” Fordley said.
Looking back, Imes said she wanted to feel happy, but it was difficult. The donors, she learned, were between 8 and 30 years old.
“Someone may have lost a child or someone may have lost a husband,” she said, adding that the family still doesn't know anything about the donor.
“I was almost excited,” Fordry said. “It was just another day.”
“When people ask him now, he says it was just a Thursday,” Ims added.
While Mr. Fordry was recovering, his family enjoyed Thanksgiving in the hospital cafeteria. There, they each shared their gratitude for the amazing turn of events.
Fordry will be enjoying Thanksgiving dinner in a week and a half.
After transplant
Mr. Fordry spent a month in the hospital. He taught himself sign language to communicate with his family and hospital staff. A book was created with images of his favorite items so he could point to them if needed.
He played Xbox, read books, and took naps. He was released a month later but was told to remain near Charlottesville. He had hoped to be home for Christmas.
“I told the doctor I would take him back on Monday,” Imes recalled. “The doctor said, 'No, we can't do that yet.' But you can go to the hotel and pack your bags.” We were confused. ”
Amazingly, Fordry and his family were able to return to Edinburg.
“Everyone was looking forward to seeing me,” he said, recalling his return to the classroom in late February. “They asked questions and wanted to know where I had been.”
Always a good student, Fordry continues to excel and is a member of the National Honor Society. He loves music, but his mother says he wasn't much of a music fan before.
Fordry believes it was because his heart donor loved music.
When he's not reading or spending time with his family, Fadley enjoys playing board games from his extensive collection. He considers himself a foodie and enjoys tacos and cooked oysters. As a child, he hated beans, but when he woke up from surgery, the first thing he asked for was beans.
“He came out of his shell,” Imes said, smiling at her son. “He has an interest in life, just to be able to play outside with his brothers and walk across campus to me at the end of the day. He has an afternoon for community service opportunities. Sometimes he stays until 7 o'clock. He's experiencing for the first time those moments that we take for granted.”
“It is what it is,” said Fordry, who still doesn't understand why everyone is making such a fuss about him. He once asked his mother, “How did you become so famous?”
Both Fordry and Ims, who want to spread awareness about organ donation, pointed to the importance of sharing their stories. “Not everyone can share themselves,” she said, looking at Faudrey.
“I'm just so grateful,” Fordry said.
Click here to learn more about organ donation. www.organdonor.gov
“Everyone was excited to see me. They asked questions and wanted to know where I had been. — Kamdon Faudry, heart transplant patient, Central High School after surgery Talk about returning to {relative_content_uuid}f2749857-ea13-49ad-8c2c-b4bfd7857138{/popular_content_uuid}
