Community rallies around boy in need of lung transplant

PORT STREET LUCIE, Fla. — A parent’s worst nightmare is learning that their child has a serious illness. A Port St. Lucie family says it’s a cruel joke after their 9-year-old son beat cancer but now needs a double lung transplant.

Somerset Academy St. Lucy student Marco Hannan is feeling the love and support of his school community as he prepares for his next battle.

Marco needs new lungs, but this isn’t the first time he’s fighting for his life.

“He was diagnosed with neuroblastoma when he was 5 years old. He overcame like a champ and stayed positive until the end. He overcame chemotherapy, surgery, bone marrow transplant, radiation therapy and immunotherapy.” said his mother, Graziella Hannan. “He was so excited to finally go back to school this year, but it didn’t take long because around Thanksgiving he started having trouble breathing. He couldn’t walk in school anymore. died.”

The diagnosis was pulmonary fibrosis caused by chemotherapy.

“So the cancer was killed, but it basically killed off his lungs too, so now we have to get a lung transplant. Here we are.” [UF Health] shands [Hospital] “I’m in Gainesville,” Graziella said. “We’ve been here for 48 days and we’re not leaving until we have new lungs.”

The child’s mother said she immediately went back into survivor mode.

“As a mother, you don’t really have a choice,” she said. “You don’t sit and cry about it. You become your child’s biggest advocate.”

It’s unclear how long the wait will be, but Graziella and Marco are staying in Gainesville until the donor lungs arrive, while the rest of the family is returning to Port St. Lucie.

“Pediatric lung treatment takes quite a while. Doctors’ experience has said it’s an average of 90 days, but it could be any day, or even longer. He’s not well enough. “So we have to wait here until we find a good match.” “He’s gone home. He needs a lot of support. He’s currently on ECMO, an extracorporeal machine that oxygenates his blood. “I’m doing it,” Graziella said. “We will be here until a donor match is made. As I said, no matter how long it takes for the lungs to arrive, we will be here for 48, 49 days. “The patient will then have to stay here for three months after the surgery for follow-up.” ”

Mother and son work as a team to stay positive no matter what happens.

“He’s coping very well. ‘Mom, this is basically just an extension of the cancer. We’re going to get through this too. It’s not over yet. I thought it was over, but it’s not. ’ he said,” Graziella added. “It’s not as bad as you think. Because no matter what doomsday scenario you think, it’s always going to get better.”

This mom on a mission hopes that by sharing their story, she can inspire others to take care of their health.

“When they told me he had pulmonary fibrosis, I didn’t believe it. I really didn’t believe it. It’s very rare for that to happen in children. So cancer, chemotherapy, all these things, I didn’t believe it. Now that we know it plays a role, we’re trying to impact more people. ‘People know about it, so they can better monitor their subsequent care,’ she said. said. “If he had waited any longer, he would have died.”

Marco’s school community raised thousands of dollars to support his care. They held a superhero costume day to honor the boy who loved Spider-Man, as well as other fundraisers.

click here Please visit the family’s GoFundMe page to help.