'Miracle baby': Greensburg boy receives heart transplant

For years, Gene Salvio had two suitcases sitting in his Greensburg home — one filled with summer clothes, the other with winter clothes — in case he got the call that his now 11-year-old son, Nico, would need to go to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh for a heart transplant.

Nico Salvio was diagnosed at birth with pulmonary atresia, a defect that causes the valve that controls blood flow from the heart to the lungs to not form, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After enduring two open heart surgeries as an infant, doctors knew a new heart eventually would be needed to correct the problem.

Last Friday, after almost three years on the transplant waiting list, the Salvios received the call. A heart was available for Nico.

“It’s like a dream that it actually came true. … When you get that call, I don’t think you can ever be ready for it,” said Gene Salvio, 52. “It was amazing. To see the struggle he’s been through and then, all of a sudden, you get that call, it’s like, wow, this is actually happening.”

Father and son arrived at Children’s Hospital the evening of Oct. 2. Around 3 a.m., Nico was wheeled to the operating room — where he remained for about six and a half hours. Doctors would come to the waiting room every few hours, giving Gene updates on when Nico’s heart was removed and when they were preparing to insert the new one.

Gene Salvio, who was alone in the waiting room that night, also received updates through an electronic board that stated when the operation was underway and when Nico was transferred to the ICU. He prayed that Nico would make it through the surgery and thought of his wife, Stacey, who was rushed to Excela Westmoreland Hospital a day earlier due to complications from a stroke she suffered in January.

“All I can think about is when he was first born, when my wife was in labor when they would tell her to push, she did her first push and all of his vitals went down to almost nothing. … So they did the C-section, they literally gave me the baby, so I’m holding Nico and then they had to take him right away to rush him to Children’s (Hospital),” he said.

“I’m thinking, ‘Oh my God, if he doesn’t make it, she never got to hold him and I did.’ So, I had flashbacks because, now, fast forward to this past Saturday morning, I’m there and she’s not. She didn’t get to kiss him and say good luck, I love you, and all the stuff I got to do. So, that was the whole time.”

When the doctors finally came out to tell Gene Salvio that the surgery went well, he said he felt a weight lift from his shoulders. Shortly after, he called his wife, giving her the news.

“Crying,” he said of her reaction. “She was ecstatic, she was so happy. We were both bawling. It was just amazing.”

Pulmonary atresia

When Stacey Salvio, now 52 and a nurse, went in for a routine ultrasound when she was about four months pregnant, she knew instantly that something was wrong.

“My wife looked at me and said, ‘There’s something wrong with Nico’s heart,’” Gene Salvio said.

The doctor told them their baby’s heart was not fully developed, but the couple knew they would never give up on giving him a chance at life. Nico underwent open heart surgery before his first birthday, and another at around 2 years old, along with several heart catheterizations.

When Nico was finally able to go home, Gene Salvio said he was hooked to several monitors, including a pulsometer and a feeding tube. His heart was so weak he would only sleep for up to 15 minutes at a time, causing Gene and Stacey to alternate care each night so they had a chance to rest.

As he grew, Nico eventually started to sleep more, but symptoms like shortness of breath started to appear, and his fingernail beds and lips became blue from a lack of oxygen. During school, he was unable to participate in gym class and he tried sports like baseball, but was unable to fully run the bases.

“Anytime Nico would be over here and Noah wanted to play ball, we had to keep giving Nico breaks because he couldn’t keep up,” said Chrissy Salvio, Nico’s aunt, referencing her son, Noah. “Mainly they’d have to do sit down games and things like that because he just got so winded. … Even to just take a flight of steps, it was very difficult for him to do.”

Over the years, Nico’s heart condition continued to decline, causing doctors to put him on the transplant list. During a six-month checkup in September, doctors bumped him up on the list with hopes he would receive a heart faster. The Salvios received the phone call a week later.

When Gene Salvio went into Nico’s room following his heart transplant, he instantly noticed color in the lips and fingers and his pulse was at a more normal rate.

“Just to see him progressing. … They told me sometimes it usually takes a day or two before they can take the breathing tube out through his mouth, it was out that same evening, which was amazing,” Gene Salvio said. “His oxygen was removed the next day. He’s up and walking. He’s eating spaghetti.”

Doctors are monitoring Nico for signs of rejection. According to Chrissy Salvio, the first few hours after the transplant were crucial in terms of the body possibly rejecting the heart. He will be monitored for the next few months and is on anti-rejection medication.

At this time, there is no timeline for when Nico might be able to go home. He is spending his time playing on his iPad and Facetiming with his mom.

“Nico, he really hasn’t said much,” Gene Salvio said. “That’s not normally like Nico because Nico’s like his mom, he likes to talk a lot. And I still think it’s going to be like that until he sees his mom again. I believe he’s just holding everything in until he sees his mom.”

Nico’s Warriors

In 2015, Chrissy Salvio started Nico’s Warriors, an organization aimed at raising money to help with hospital bills and medications not covered by insurance.

Over the years, fundraisers like bowling tournaments at Greensburg’s Hillview Bowling Lanes and golf outings at Mt. Odin Park Golf Course were held. An account is set up at First Commonwealth Bank to accept donations. A Facebook page has garnered support from more than 900 people from across the country.

Most recently, Chrissy Salvio started a card drive as a way to keep Nico’s mind off being in the hospital and worrying about his mom.

“I have people from all over the United States messaging me through the Nico’s Warriors page for their prayers, they want to send Nico a gift,” she said. “It’s amazing how much it’s spreading.”

For Nico, the process is just the next step in a struggle he has faced his whole life. But, now, Nico will be able to take part in gym class and other activities without being short of breath. He also plans on spending time in a swimming pool that was recently installed thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“It’s just amazing how miracles work,” Gene Salvio said, “and he’s 100% a miracle baby.”