LVAD Living August 2014 | Page 13

Johns Hopkins Medicine, a nonprofit, virtual enterprise, combines over 124 years of commitment to community care with groundbreaking research, teaching and medical services to patients worldwide.

Johns Hopkins Medicine handles more than 120,000 inpatient admissions annually.

Johns Hopkins Professor Carol Greider, winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiological Medicine, joins 19 other current or former school of medicine scientists as Nobel laureates.

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Five-year-old Jaime Ponce

June 16,2014

is hooked up to a Berlin heart, a tiny pump that maintains blood flow. He’s doing well on the machine and his spirits now? Amazing! A huge FIFA fan, Jamie was looking forward to cheering for his favorite team from his home country, Mexico, in the World Cup.

Instead, the boy who now lives in Homestead, Fla. ended up at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood this month in need of a new heart. Jaime collects “Panini stickers,” featuring the faces of his favorite players, and he hoped to get a lot more.

CBS alerted Panini America and did a story on the little boy and suddenly there was a tremendous response. Panini America sticker company sent a box with stickers, a book, and shirts. The Aunt of a player from Mexico sent a huge box and also promised to send a signed jersey–which is on its way. His mother, who does not speak English, says she is overjoyed and overwhelmed, thanks to community support.

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The 5-year-old now has every sticker; one of each player playing in the World Cup. Jaime really wants to spend his summer outside playing soccer but, in the meantime, the stickers help in a tremendous way. Jaime’s heart surgeon, Dr. Steven Bibevski said, “The spirit can be broken and it’s important for people to realize it’s not ethereal. It is real and makes a world of difference to him.”

Science is doing its part and the community is doing their part to put Jaime in the best place possible, mentally and physically, as he awaits a transplant. His favorite team is Mexico. Now that they are out of the running, he’s decided to pull for Argentina