It’s been almost a year now since a heart transplant saved her life, and Brookelyn Baker of Clarksburg is going strong and making the most of the gift she has been given.
Now 11 and a fifth grader at Clarksburg School, Brookelyn is doing very well, according to her mother, Melissa Moffitt.
“Most of the time you can’t tell anything happened,” said Moffitt. “She’s back to doing everything she did before, and the doctors don’t see any complications so far.”
And that’s miraculous considering the deadly serious nature of Brookelyn’s condition at about this time last year.
Brookelyn was taken to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville in February of last year, and doctors initially thought she was experiencing arthritis caused by a recent bout of the flu.
But it was soon discovered that she was suffering from a condition called Kawasaki Disease, which causes inflammation in the walls of some blood vessels.
If it is caught early, most children recover without any lasting harm, but, sometimes, as in Brookelyn’s case, it results in serious and potentially fatal heart damage.
On March 12, 2019, the family was given the devastating news that Brookelyn’s life depended on getting a heart transplant as soon as possible.
But as soon as possible didn’t turn out to be long at all as Brookelyn was only on the donor list for about three hours before a heart became available.
The new heart was successfully transplanted during surgery on March 14 at Vanderbilt.
Since that time, Brookelyn has recovered, and she has been doing the things she loves to do.
She has gone on family trips to Panama City Beach in Florida and Gatlinburg, and she attended the convention with her fellow Junior Beta Club members during the fall semester.
She was also baptized during the past year at Concord Missionary Baptist Church.
And coming up in the next few weeks, Brookelyn may be getting a big surprise, courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Not to spoil the surprise, but her mother did say it might involve a trip to a very magical place.
Looking back, Melissa Moffitt said she is very thankful to everyone who showed love and support to the family during the past year.
“It’s absolutely insane the kind of support we got,” she said. “We’re just grateful things have gone so smoothly.”
Brookelyn is also the step-daughter of Bryan Moffitt and the daughter of the late Billy Baker. She has an older sister, Brittany Baker Bolen, 26; two younger sisters, Makinley Moffitt, 6, and Whitley Moffitt, who will be two in April; and one younger brother, Ryver Moffitt, 4.
