Sofia Sanchez danced into surgery to Drake, then charmed the musician in a "heart-beat" during his surprise visit this month. Now, the spunky Chicago heart patient needing a new heart to live has one beating inside her.
"We were able to open her chest and put her on the heart-lung machine with no issues," said Dr. Carl Backer, the division head of Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery at Lurie Children's Hospital. "The donor heart functioned very well."
Sanchez, 11 from Downers Grove, had two wishes. One came true when she met Drake last week. Her second, to get a new heart, was granted this week.
Dr. Backer said Drake had a real impact, and not only on Sofia.
"I think it put her in a very good mental state that someone like that would care to come see her," he said. "I would also say it buoyed up the whole hospital. I mean everyone in the hospital was talking about it."
Dr. Backer guessed Sofia was his 250th heart transplant.
"It doesn't get old."
The next step will be a biopsy on Sofia's new heart in 10 days that will tell her team more about her recovery moving forward.
As for Drake, he has a new fan: Dr. Carl Backer.
