Cards, chocolate, and flowers. They are given to show love on Valentine’s Day. But an Ennis mother and son celebrate this day from the heart. NBC 5’s Noelle Walker has their story.
Feb.14 is Valentine's Day, but in the Clayborne house in Ennis, the day has another name.
"In this house, it's absolutely National Donor Day," Dr. Brittany Clayborne said. "Because without my organ donor, Gary; without the organ transplant process, there would be no 'me' today."
Thirteen years ago, Clayborne prematurely gave birth to her only child, Micah. He was two pounds and had to be in the NICU. Days later, Clayborne would join him in the hospital, but in the cardiac ICU.
"They said within the past week you've had a heart attack," Clayborne recalled. "I said, no, I've had a baby. Is that the same thing?"
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She got a pacemaker, but her heart condition worsened.
"A transplant was never on my radar," Clayborn said. "That was the beginning of this heart journey."
Last December, Clayborne picked up a passenger on that journey; one she never expected.
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"I ran out of breath faster than the other kids did," Clayborne's son Micah said.
"He's gonna need a heart transplant," Clayborne recalled doctors saying to her. "I said, well how bad is it? He said this is the worst case of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy I've ever seen. It was, and still is, the single most devastating thing I've heard in my life."
Two weeks ago, at 13 years old, Micah Clayborne was put on the heart transplant list.
"We've already been through this," Micah said. "I'm kind of used to it, so I know I can get through this. If she can, then I also can 'cause I share her genes, and she's also a fighter."
Micah has a nonprofit called Micah Gives, which donates BRAVE bags to children in the hospital. The charity's MVP Program brought patients and families to the Dallas Mavericks game on National Donor Day, courtesy of a gifted suite at the American Airlines Center.
Dr. Brittany Clayborne earned her master's waiting for a heart transplant and her Doctorate of Psychology while fighting cancer. She's now in remission and has a nonprofit called Brittany Speaks to support the emotional and psychological needs of people in medically difficult situations.
If you'd like more information about registering to be an organ donor, click here.
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