Jessica and Kaiden's Story

Hello, my name is Jessica Mercer. I am mom to Kaiden Mercer, CHD heart warrior. At 20 weeks pregnant, we not only found out we were finally having a boy after 2 girls, but also that his heart had not fully developed. October 25th, 2012, we welcomed our first son, Kaiden, into this world knowing that he would have a long journey.  We were willing to fight for every breath for him. Kaiden was diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Ventricle, DORV (double outlet right ventricle), Tricuspid Valve Regurgitation, and Dextrocardia with Heterotaxy Syndrome.
 

Kaiden spent his first 6 months in and out of Children’s Medical Center Dallas. In 2 short years, Kaiden had undergone 3 open heart surgeries and multiple heart catheterizations. Kaiden was doing "well" until Oct 2021, when we were sent to Dell Children’s Hospital in Austin, TX, to have yet another surgery. This time for his tricuspid valve to be repaired. Kaiden recovered well and was back home in Fort Worth, TX to enjoy his time with his 3 sisters until the end of 2023.
 

After a routine checkup with his cardiologist in Dallas, she thought it would be best for us to go back to Austin to be evaluated for a heart transplant and to look at Kaiden’s liver. On Jan 11th, 2024, we had an appointment with the heart team at Dell Children’s where Kaiden had some labs and echo completed. Then we were sent back home to wait for further testing to be scheduled. Little did we know that 24 hours later we would be getting a call that Kaiden’s blood work didn’t look great, and they wanted us to return ASAP. So, on Jan 17th, 2024, Kaiden was admitted to Dell Children’s for a heart catheterization and liver biopsy. On Jan 22nd, we received the shocking news that Kaiden’s liver biopsy came back for Fibrosis of the liver Stage 3. This was caused by his Fontan procedure from 2014 when he was 2 years old.  We just couldn’t believe it! We also found out Kaiden had Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia, (PCD) which really affected his lungs.
 

His team of Dr’s said getting him a new heart would be the best option and were very confident a new heart would help the liver recover. After many long days of testing, Kaiden was officially listed for a heart transplant, Status 1A on February 2, 2024, and had to remain inpatient until his new heart came. I (mom) stayed with him at the hospital, while dad was back home over 3 hours away taking care of our 3 girls.
 

On Feb 9, 2025 after 388 very long and challenging days we received our call that they had a heart for Kaiden. Feb 11th Kaiden was rolled back to the OR at 3am to receive his new heart.
 

First 24 hours went well and Kaiden remained stable, then everything took a turn. Kaiden’s lungs were struggling and he got pseudomonas which led to pneumonia and septic shock. He was put on VA Ecmo to allow his body to rest and heal. The next 33 days were a roller coaster. Kaiden was up and down fighting multiple infections and problems one after another. Then we lost our sweet boy on March 16, 2025. His lungs and body had been damaged too much and couldn't catch a break. We will forever remember Kaiden and how brave he was through it all. Fly high my angel!
 

For more information you can see his journey on Facebook.com/kaidenschdjourney