In early May, 18-year-old Matthew was admitted to Southlake with endocarditis – a serious infection of the heart valve. To save his life, Southlake’s cardiac team performed a minimally invasive mitral valve repair, led by Dr. Carolyn Teng.
Matthew’s recovery was very challenging, involving life-saving efforts, including prolonged intubation, a code blue in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) and eventually transferred to Toronto General Hospital to be placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as an extreme effort to save his life. At times, Matthew’s care team didn’t think he was going to make it. But thanks to the amazing dedication of all the staff and physicians involved in his care, as well as Matthew’s own strong will and determination, Matthew was able to go home with his family.
Matthew stole the hearts of our team. He is graduating from high school this June and since he missed his graduation this year, Matthew’s care team decided to throw him a surprise graduation party before he was discharged home with his family. On June 5, staff lined the hallway and cheered Matthew as he was discharged, and Dr. Teng presented him with a cap and gown and honourary diploma.
Congratulations Matthew on your recovery and your graduation! Thank you to each and every staff member who showed their dedication, passion and unwavering commitment to Matthew’s care. We wish Matthew the best of luck as he continues his outpatient rehabilitation and recovery.
