An 11-year-old girl spoke about two amazing things that happened to her. Within one week she experienced two huge miracles. One of those miracles saved her life, while the other had a huge impact on it.
Sofia Sanchez experienced heart failure, and was waiting for a new heart when her music idol stopped by her hospital room.
“It was a dream to me, but it happened, and I’m really happy because he’s a really, really nice person, and he’s a really good singer and rapper.”
Drake posted photos with Sofia to his official Instagram page. He was in Chicago for a concert before stopping by. He was headed to his hometown, Toronto, for the next shows on his Aubrey & the Three Migos tour.
The hospital posted a video of Sofia getting out of a wheelchair to dance to Drake songs on social media. In another video, Sofia directly addressed Drake, asking him to stop by the hospital and cheer her up. She mentioned that her birthday is on the same day as his Chicago performance.
In the video, Sofia explains her ailment and then talks about the machine that helps her heart pump blood.
The videos worked.
Not long after Drake’s visit, Sofia got news that a donor heart was available.
“I was thinking about it a lot and I kept asking the doctors right when they came in, ‘Is my heart here? And they said no, not yet.’ But that day when they came, I didn’t say anything and my heart came.”
The hospital was pleased with the results of the transplant.
“The new donor heart worked great, and she came off the heart-lung machine with no problems and clearly has done quite well. She got out of the hospital almost as fast as anybody we’ve ever had have a transplant. So she’s one of our star patients.”
Dr. Osama Eltayeb talked about how Sofia could still dance enough to lure Drake with medical equipment still attached to her.
“This is what her X-ray, when she had the device in her heart. And that’s how she managed to do the KiKi dance because of that. And this is her heart after the transplant.”
Sofia also expressed that she felt better and had few complaints about the results of the transplant.
“It feels better. Like it feels different, but like, in a good way. Like it feels like a regular heart. Like it doesn’t hurt or anything. You have a little chest pain, because you just have a surgery. But it doesn’t hurt bad at all. And you feel great after it.”
Sofia also talked about her medical routine since the transplant.
“I take the capsules, and I can take two at a time. And I’m just getting them down on time and fast. So it’s easy and it’s kind of fun taking them because it’s just one gulp of water and its down. So, it’s easy. And you got to make sure you take the medicine on time so you don’t get rejection.”
Sofia had kind words for the family of the person whose heart was now pumping blood through her body.
“Thank you to the donor’s family for donating their organs because I wouldn’t be here right now. I would probably be still in the hospital not really doing as best as how I am now. So thank you.”
So how did Drake’s visit lead to Sofia receiving a new heart?
“One of the questions that we’ve actually gotten a lot was whether Drake coming here influenced her getting her heart sooner. And the answer to that is that it was totally coincidental.”
