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American Morning
Baby Recovering after Receiving Donor Heart
Aired April 29, 2003 - 07:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's keep things going with a heartwarming story, literally.
Six-month-old Dillon Sellers is on the road to recovery after a life-saving heart transplant. We have been following the family's story for a couple of months now. You will remember that Dillon's father, Marine Major Hal Sellers, went off to war, while Dillon was waiting for a donor heart.
Well, Dillon has finally received that new heart last month, and now we are happy to report he is out of the hospital.
And we're thrilled to have him with us, along with mom, Betsy Sellers. They are joining us from Loma Linda, California this morning.
Good morning, Sellers family.
BETSY SELLERS, SON RECEIVED HEART TRANSPLANT: Good morning.
KAGAN: Betsy, how's the little man doing?
SELLERS: He's doing really well. He eats and sleeps, and is gaining a lot of weight. And the doctors are real pleased with him so far.
KAGAN: I've got to tell you, he looks like a whole different baby than the pictures that we saw just seconds ago.
SELLERS: He does. It's amazing.
KAGAN: What kind of differences can you notice since he has his new heart?
SELLERS: He is much more alert. There are so many new things now for him to experience and to get out and about. And he just seems to be enjoying things. He seems happier. You know, he's obviously off of all of that medication and sedation, just much more of a normal baby.
KAGAN: He still does have some obstacles ahead. I want to get to that in a moment. But first of all, getting back to your whole family picture. As we have been following your family story, you had a controversial situation to deal with, a family crisis, your baby very sick and your husband's Marine unit called off to go to Kuwait and then to Iraq. He is there now.
What's the word from dad given that he hasn't been able to see his son since he's had the new heart?
SELLERS: He has been able to call about once a week, so I've been able to give him updates. He hasn't gotten any new pictures for a while. The mail's been real sporadic for him. So, I think he has a hard time picturing how well Dillon looks now. He's kind of amazed that he's actually out of the hospital.
And he thinks their unit has been chosen to do some stabilization efforts, so he thinks he might still be gone a couple of more months. But we'll see.
KAGAN: So, he still won't be home for a while. A lot of people were talking about your decision. Given where you are now and given where your husband is and given the improving baby that you have in your arms right now, do you feel like your family made the right decision, for your husband to go off to war rather than to stay home with you?
SELLERS: Most definitely. Yes, I think so. Hal's decision was bigger than just our family. And he was doing something very important to him, and in the long run important to our family and a lot of American families. So I'm proud of his decision, and I think it was the right thing to do.
KAGAN: And speaking of families and difficult decisions, of course, you wouldn't have your improving son right now if another family hadn't made a very important decision, and that is to donate the organs from their baby. The feelings you have for that family right now?
SELLERS: An immense amount of gratitude. I know to say thank you seems so inadequate, but it's just -- I look at him so many times during the day and I think of all that he has been through, and realize that without their generosity, he would not be here. And it amazes me that the courage that they had during their hardship to give this gift to Dillon, and I'm just -- it's a miracle for our family.
KAGAN: There were a lot of difficult decisions for a few families out there. Thanks for joining us. Good luck in the improving health for Dillon, your getting your husband back here to the States, and eventually getting back home to Iowa. Thanks for being with us.
SELLERS: Thank you.
KAGAN: Betsy Sellers and baby, Dillon.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired April 29, 2003 - 07:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's keep things going with a heartwarming story, literally.
Six-month-old Dillon Sellers is on the road to recovery after a life-saving heart transplant. We have been following the family's story for a couple of months now. You will remember that Dillon's father, Marine Major Hal Sellers, went off to war, while Dillon was waiting for a donor heart.
Well, Dillon has finally received that new heart last month, and now we are happy to report he is out of the hospital.
And we're thrilled to have him with us, along with mom, Betsy Sellers. They are joining us from Loma Linda, California this morning.
Good morning, Sellers family.
BETSY SELLERS, SON RECEIVED HEART TRANSPLANT: Good morning.
KAGAN: Betsy, how's the little man doing?
SELLERS: He's doing really well. He eats and sleeps, and is gaining a lot of weight. And the doctors are real pleased with him so far.
KAGAN: I've got to tell you, he looks like a whole different baby than the pictures that we saw just seconds ago.
SELLERS: He does. It's amazing.
KAGAN: What kind of differences can you notice since he has his new heart?
SELLERS: He is much more alert. There are so many new things now for him to experience and to get out and about. And he just seems to be enjoying things. He seems happier. You know, he's obviously off of all of that medication and sedation, just much more of a normal baby.
KAGAN: He still does have some obstacles ahead. I want to get to that in a moment. But first of all, getting back to your whole family picture. As we have been following your family story, you had a controversial situation to deal with, a family crisis, your baby very sick and your husband's Marine unit called off to go to Kuwait and then to Iraq. He is there now.
What's the word from dad given that he hasn't been able to see his son since he's had the new heart?
SELLERS: He has been able to call about once a week, so I've been able to give him updates. He hasn't gotten any new pictures for a while. The mail's been real sporadic for him. So, I think he has a hard time picturing how well Dillon looks now. He's kind of amazed that he's actually out of the hospital.
And he thinks their unit has been chosen to do some stabilization efforts, so he thinks he might still be gone a couple of more months. But we'll see.
KAGAN: So, he still won't be home for a while. A lot of people were talking about your decision. Given where you are now and given where your husband is and given the improving baby that you have in your arms right now, do you feel like your family made the right decision, for your husband to go off to war rather than to stay home with you?
SELLERS: Most definitely. Yes, I think so. Hal's decision was bigger than just our family. And he was doing something very important to him, and in the long run important to our family and a lot of American families. So I'm proud of his decision, and I think it was the right thing to do.
KAGAN: And speaking of families and difficult decisions, of course, you wouldn't have your improving son right now if another family hadn't made a very important decision, and that is to donate the organs from their baby. The feelings you have for that family right now?
SELLERS: An immense amount of gratitude. I know to say thank you seems so inadequate, but it's just -- I look at him so many times during the day and I think of all that he has been through, and realize that without their generosity, he would not be here. And it amazes me that the courage that they had during their hardship to give this gift to Dillon, and I'm just -- it's a miracle for our family.
KAGAN: There were a lot of difficult decisions for a few families out there. Thanks for joining us. Good luck in the improving health for Dillon, your getting your husband back here to the States, and eventually getting back home to Iowa. Thanks for being with us.
SELLERS: Thank you.
KAGAN: Betsy Sellers and baby, Dillon.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
