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13-year-old wins medals at U.S. Transplant Games
Jon Hochstein, of Ashburn Village, had a heart transplant at the age of 4.
He survived cancer as a fourth-grader, and went through organ rejection only a year later.
"My friends say I have nine lives," Jon said.
Now 13, Jon has taken those experiences and turned them into motivation.
Last month, he competed in the U.S. Transplant Games in Pittsburgh, an annual event established for children and adults who have had organ or bone marrow transplants.
Jon won the silver medal in the 1K bicycle race and bronze medals in the 50-meter backstroke and softball throw.
"My heart is basically my second chance at life," he said. "I wouldn't be here without it."
Living with a heart transplant is something Jon has grown accustomed to. He takes about 15 pills every day to prevent rejection.
It's something he has done for as long as he can remember.
At age 3, Jon often complained that he was out of breath, said his mom, Barbara Hochstein.
After an illness, doctors performed a chest X-ray and discovered Jon had an enlarged heart. They soon found that his heart was working at only 6 percent capacity. Doctors tried to cure him, but Jon had congestive heart failure and ended up needing a heart transplant.
About three weeks after he was put on the donor list, his lucky moment arrived.
Hochstein said she doesn't know for sure, but she thinks Jon's heart came from an 8-year-old boy who died after being hit by a car around the time of Jon's surgery.
The Hochsteins have never heard anything from Jon's donor. With any organ transplant, the donor's family makes the decision on whether to be identified and communicate with the recipient, Hochstein said.
Jon's heart has done well since the transplant, but cancer – which organ recipients are at increased risk of getting -- and a brief stint with rejection have also challenged him.
Five months of chemotherapy took him out of school for much of fourth grade. He is now going into eighth grade at St. Theresa School in Ashburn.
After all he's been through, Jon has decided that he wants to grow up to be a heart surgeon so he can save the lives of others just as he was saved nine years ago.
"Ever since I was 4, when I used to put my little brother up on the table and pretend to use a stethoscope, I wanted to be a cardiologist," he said. "I kind of like hospitals."
Contact the reporter at ecoe@timespapers.com
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