Six-year-old Muskaan Grewal, a recent heart transplant recipient and the youngest person in the world to receive a heart pump, couldn't wait to get home to Surrey on Saturday to see the rest of her family.
As she waited with her dad for her bags to arrive on the conveyor belt at Vancouver airport, she hopped up and down in excitement, her long brown ponytail bouncing, her frilly green polka-dotted skirt swirling.
A year ago, this bubbly little girl couldn't even walk a few steps without becoming exhausted, and often had to be carried by her parents.
Now - after receiving a heart transplant just a couple of weeks ago at the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton - Muskaan can do all the things she couldn't do before, such as swim and play with her friends at birthday parties.
"I'm six and a half," she said, giggling, ready to pounce on the bags as soon as she had them in sight. When asked how she felt after her surgery, Muskaan flashed a big toothy grin.
"I feel really good," she said. "I have lots more energy now."
She said she was eager to get home and planned to hug her mother, eat some cake, and then jump on her own bed.
When she was just 10 days old, Muskaan was diagnosed with a condition called noncompaction dilated cardiomyopathy. With the rare condition, the heart becomes weakened, enlarged and cannot pump blood throughout the body effectively, often leading to heart failure.
At five, she became the youngest person in the world to receive a ventricular assist device, a machine that pumps blood for those with weak hearts.
Shortly after noon on Saturday, Muskaan arrived back in B.C. from Edmonton with her father Harmon Grewal. The proud dad smiled as he watched his little girl bounce with an energy she never had before.
He said although the family will have to wait about a year to see how well Muskaan's body receives the new heart, he was thrilled that the doctors told him the surgery went "really well."
He said the heart she received was very strong and so far, she is responding exceptionally well.
"She is so energetic, and you know, this is the start of a whole new life for her," he said. "She can swim and climb trees, all the normal things."
The only word he could think of to describe how he and his wife feel is "freedom."
He said it was heartbreaking to watch her be so weak all the time and then, after she got the heart pump, to make sure there were enough batteries and to keep her away from water. The battery-controlled power source for the pump was stored in a small backpack she wore every day.
At night, she would plug it into the wall in her bedroom. The pump is designed for adults but has been previously used in some pediatric cases. Before Muskaan, the youngest patient to have the device inserted was a sixyear-old child in Germany.
Muskaan, who said the device buzzed loudly like a bee, was overjoyed to finally be free of the device and skipped through the airport.
Her mom and dad had planned a huge welcome home party for Muskaan with many extended family members and friends to welcome her home to Surrey.
"We are so happy, and now she is home and that means she is free," Grewal said.
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