Cape Teen's Heart Pump Making Medical History Before Transplant

YARMOUTH (CBS) - A Yarmouth teenager has made medical history, even though it wasn't her choice.

Thirteen-year old Kyah DeSimone has had a small pump attached to her heart and she's the first youngster in the nation to have the procedure done with the tiny pump and then return to school with it.

"It vibrates and it's kind of noisy. I can hear it when I sleep, but it's amazing," DeSimone told WBZ-TV.

Last November, her heart medication became ineffective and then, her heart failed.

Doctors at Boston Children's Hospital did not have a matching donor heart, so they worked around the clock to get FDA approval for a small pump that had only been used in Canada.

They surgically attached the pump to DeSimone's heart so that she could go home and resume her normal schedule while she waits for a donor heart.

"It's amazing the work they did,"  said Kyah's mother Danielle. "I can't say enough of the surgical team. They are a blessing."

And while DeSimone cannot do the cheerleading and dancing that she loves, she knows that the pump is giving her life, until a matching donor heart becomes available.

A fund has been set up to help with Kyah's medical costs.  You can visit her website or send checks to:

Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank

c/o Kyah's Heart Fund

514 Station Ave.

South Yarmouth, MA 02664