Teen heart transplant survivor celebrates graduation

As Ryen’s condition became more complex, her family was referred to Dell Children’s Medical Center and the Texas Center for Pediatric & Congenital Heart Disease in Austin, Texas. By then, Ryen was in heart failure, and her case required an advanced level of expertise and coordination.

For Jamie, Ryen's mom, meeting Charles D. Fraser Jr., MD, pediatric and congenital cardiac surgeon at Dell Children’s Medical Center, brought something they desperately needed: a path forward.

“He explained it to her and to me in a way that I don’t think anybody had before,” Jamie said. “This is what’s happening, this is where you are, this is what we need to do.”

Making history with pediatric LVAD surgery.

What followed was a journey filled with moments no family ever expects to face.

At Dell Children’s, Ryen became the hospital’s first pediatric patient to receive a ventricular assist device (LVAD), a mechanical pump used to support heart function while she waited for a transplant.

During that difficult season, Ryen experienced a stroke — one shortly after receiving the LVAD and another while waiting at home for a donor heart.

Recovery wasn’t simple.

It meant relearning, readjusting, and finding her way through a version of life that looked different than before. But even in the uncertainty, she kept going.

And through it all, Ryen never lost sight of what mattered most.

“I just really want to live,” she told her mom. “That’s all I want to do. I don’t want to die. I want to live.”

Then came the moment that would change everything.

Ryen received a heart transplant at Dell Children’s, a second chance that gave her the opportunity to move forward into a future that once felt uncertain.

When compassionate care feels like family

From the moment Ryen arrived at Dell Children’s, something felt different.

“The first thing she said was, ‘I feel really comfortable here,’” Jamie remembers. “She felt safe.”

That feeling would grow into something much bigger, Dell Children’s became a place that felt like home.

The many years she received pediatric care at Dell Children’s takes her back to the memories of nurses turning IV poles into elf adventures during the holidays. It looked like Child Life specialists helping turn music into healing by creating a song using Ryen’s heartbeat and hosting a concert where her care team filled the room to cheer her on.

It looked like doctors who didn’t just treat her condition, but also took the time to explain, listen and walk alongside her family every step of the way.

“They genuinely loved her,” Jamie said. “It felt like family.”

Determined to succeed despite her heart health

Ask Jamie what stands out most about her daughter, and her answer comes without hesitation: her determination.

“I watch her struggle, and I watch her keep going,” she said. “She doesn’t give up.”

Despite the health challenges Ryen faces, she was determined to give her in school. She sets goals for herself and she makes them happen.

And now, that determination is bringing her to one of the biggest milestones of her life.

This spring, Ryen will graduate from high school.

And not long after, she’ll return to Dell Children’s, but this time as a graduate, not as a patient ,celebrating alongside the heart team who walked with her through some of her hardest days.

“If it wasn’t for them, she wouldn’t be here,” Jamie said.

It’s a full-circle moment years in the making.

A future because of great advanced pediatric heart care

Ryen’s story isn’t defined by what she’s been through, it’s defined by where she’s going.

If she could sit beside a pediatric heart patient in the hospital today, she knows exactly what she would say: “It’s going to be a rough road,” she shares. “But it’s going to get better.”

Ryen knows what those days feel like — the waiting, the unknown, the moments that feel like they will never change, but she also knows what comes next.

“You get kind of like a new life,” she said. “You get to do things you didn’t get to do before.”

This is what second chances look like.

From being surrounded by people who believe in you and choosing, day after day, to keep going.

Ryen's graduation isn’t just the end of a chapter. It’s the beginning of a life she fought every step of the way to live - one that she will continue this fall at The University of Texas at San Antonio.

If your child has a complex cardiac condition and you’re looking for advanced, compassionate care, the Texas Center for Pediatric & Congenital Heart Disease at Dell Children’s is here for you. Learn more about our services or ask your child’s pediatrician about a referral to the clinic today.

This blog is intended for general informational use. Any health-related information shared is not meant to provide or replace professional medical advice and does not establish a patient-provider relationship. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.