In August 2024, one month shy of his first birthday, Wylder developed a cough during a family vacation.
“We ended up in the emergency department near our home in West Virginia, where they discovered Wylder’s heart was enlarged and inflamed,” Kayla, his mother, recalls. “Before long, his condition went from bad to worse.”
It was determined that Wylder needed a heart transplant, and he was quickly transported to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, where the family met Luciana da Fonseca da Silva, MD.
“She’s wonderful with kids,” Kayla explains. “Everyone we encountered was so welcoming and reassuring. We knew we could put our trust in them to take care of Wylder.”
In April 2025, the family got the call — it was time for the transplant. Mario Castro-Medina, MD, performed the surgery on a day Kayla will never forget.
“When Wylder’s transplant was done, the nurses were crying tears of joy. His doctors came into the room and gave us hugs. We even shared pictures of how good he looked with people working at the front desk.”
During the recovery process, Wylder sometimes had trouble sleeping, but staff at the hospital found him a stuffed puppy with a heartbeat. Resting that under his feet helped him fall asleep.
“We made friends with everyone in the hospital,” Kayla recalls. “UPMC Children’s deserves every accolade in the world. They truly are the best of the best.”