Community of Heart Warriors

The reason behind our Mission, ALK

Axell Logan Kendrick is a joyful, curious, and fiercely strong two-year-old with a love for dirt bikes, monster trucks, learning new things, and making friends wherever he goes. His laugh is contagious, his determination is unmatched, and his story is one of courage, resilience, and faith.

In late 2024, Axell was diagnosed with severe heart failure and has since been living full-time at Texas Children’s Hospital, supported by a Berlin Heart pump — a device that keeps his heart beating while his care team monitors his progress and determines whether recovery or transplant will be the next step. He’s currently listed as a 1A heart transplant candidate, the highest level of urgency.

Even in the hospital, Axell’s personality shines. He loves dancing to music, riding his bike through the halls, and saying his catchphrase: “I am strong, I am tough, I got this.” His spirit is electric, brave, silly, stubborn in the best ways, and full of life.

Axell’s journey is the reason we founded the Axe of Love and Kindness Foundation — to support other families navigating the hardest moments of their lives. He’s not just our son; he’s the heartbeat of our mission and the inspiration behind every act of love we share. 

This page is dedicated to sharing other Heart Warrior Stories. 

Read their journey, put a face to the story, and support their family by clicking on the links within their sections. 

Together, we heal hearts.

The journey of a heart transplant through the eyes of Oakley’s mom

“We don’t feel it’s safe to continue with any further surgical repairs… we believe your daughter needs a heart transplant.” My entire soul left my body when her surgeon said those words.

We first learned about Oakley’s heart condition at 20 weeks pregnant. She had holes in both upper and lower chambers, and her heart was on the right side of her chest. She had open-heart surgeries at 6 weeks old and again at 2.

At 6, she went in for another surgery, but hours later, the surgeon told us her heart was too complex. Her heart failure was worsening. For the first time, transplant was mentioned. Soon after, she was listed, and not long later, admitted for continuous IV support. Days turned to months. She was tired and even walking into a grocery store became too much.

On February 16, 2025, exactly 365 days inpatient, we got the call. A donor heart was accepted. After a year of prayers, she was getting her miracle.

A family, in their darkest moment, said yes to donation… 

The most selfless gift.

After 385 days, Oakley went home. Her lips are finally pink, and she runs and plays with her little brother. 

I don’t know her donor, but I think of them every day. Their ‘yes’ saved Oakley’s life.

It wasn’t the journey I envisioned, but I now know: The little moments are the big ones. And I’ll never take them for granted again.

MacKenzie's Version  

From a very young age, we could tell something wasn’t quite right with my heart. I was later diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a condition that affects my connective tissue. EDS affects every part of my body, wreaking havoc on everything from my organs and joints to my blood vessels and beyond. 

My heart problems were among the first signs, and as I’ve grown, it’s become painfully clear that EDS is the reason my heart has suffered so much. It’s the underlying cause of the multiple heart conditions I’ve developed. I’ve already had three heart surgeries, along with endless tests, procedures, pokes, medications, and everything else that comes with living with a chronic condition.

Over the past year, things have gotten significantly harder with my heart. Doctors have determined that EDS has fully attacked my heart, and now this is my lifelong battle. The road ahead will be full of more surgeries, more pain, more uncertainty. But through it all, we take it one minute at a time, cherishing every moment, never taking anything for granted.

"MacKenzie Strong" has become more than just a saying, it’s the strength I hold on to every day. It reminds me that no matter how hard the fight gets, I’m strong enough to keep going.

If you’d like to be a part of this journey with me, I’d love for you to follow along on Instagram.

Pedro's Fight, A Mother's Faith 

Pedro is our 20-month-old heart warrior. At just 6 months old, he was diagnosed with severe heart failure and dilated cardiomyopathy at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. We are forever thankful for the amazing team of doctors, nurses, care managers, and child life specialists who’ve stood by us from the beginning.

In January 2024, Pedro was hospitalized for 3 months. He stabilized on oral meds and was able to go home, but by this January, his symptoms returned. He was placed on IV milrinone and added to the heart transplant list. After a short time back home, his condition worsened again.

He’s now back in the hospital, on a feeding tube to gain weight, and has started a second IV medication. Today, we were transferred to the PICU, and the team has decided to place Pedro on the Berlin Heart. Testing has begun for surgery.

This journey is hard, but our faith is strong. We trust that Jesus Christ is holding Pedro’s heart in His hands and guiding his doctors every step of the way.

Pedro is a joyful boy who loves walking, painting, water play, and his sister Ariana. He misses her so much, and we pray every day for the moment they can play at the park together again.

Thank you for taking the time to read his story. We’re ready for whatever comes, and we’re sharing to spread hope, awareness, and love.

One of the scariest days of my life was when I was told by a doctor I would not live to see my 16th birthday without major medical intervention. 

The chemo needed to save me from the cancer when I was 14, gave me cardiomyopathy. A year after beating cancer, I was in end stage heart failure. I wasn’t eligible for a heart transplant since I was not 2 years cancer free.

Fortenly there was a device — the LVAD heartemate 3 — that could help pump my heart for me until I could be transplanted. Getting the VAD I didn’t know if I’d leave the hospital until transplant. I became the first pediatric patient with an LVAD in the state of Arkansas to go home with their device. I stayed on my LVAD for just under 2 years.

When I got the call it felt like the beginning to an end. “Miss Mackenzie are you there? How would you feel about taking a trip down.. to get a heart?” my nurse Rachel asks. “I would love that.” I told her. It didn’t feel real. My mom and I started packing and hit the road. 

I was very calm, which mostly stemmed from denial. I had been told lots of times I was told they don’t know how good the heart is until a doctor lays eyes on it. I think I was waiting for someone to come and say “sorry Mackenzie the heart is no good.” After they started wheeling me back, when it kicked in, I was getting a heart.

This new heart gave me a new lease on life from going on my deathbed to thriving with a heart pump, to thriving on a new heart. It has made me realize that good things do happen.

Creed was diagnosed with an interrupted aortic arch (type B) and VSD during utero, those are his main heart defects. 

This little Heart Warrior has made statements from the beginning, one being that mom was going to deliver him in the car on the way to the hospital. Creed was born at 38 weeks. After he was born, he was also diagnosed with DiGeorge syndrome, a bicuspid aortic valve and hypoplastic aortic valve. He had his first open heart surgery at just 7 days old. 

Creed came home on a hospital monitor program shortly after his surgery where we had to track everything. He was home for a good 3.5 months before being admitted to the ICU for a feeding tube because he just wasn’t gaining enough weight for his next heart surgery coming up the following month. 

Unfortunately, after our son’s second heart surgery at 4.5 months he ended up losing a lot of blood (so much that it actually changed his blood type for a while), he had several infections from respiratory to blood infections and just could not recover. A projected “you’ll be home for Christmas,” turned into indefinite We have been in the Pediatric intensive care unit ever since. 

For several months after surgery Creed was paralyzed most the time, highly sedated (requiring more sedation than anyone in the whole hospital including the adult side), and needed a lot of respiratory support. My son was intubated for 2 months before a tracheostomy procedure was done. 

We were told a tracheostomy would help save his life and that they were hopeful he would soon start getting better, but again another infection occurred. 

Later we would find out that although Creed does not have what they call “Complete” DiGeorge his thymus wasn’t really present and his immune system was causing a whole lot more issues than we thought. 

There were days in the PICU were my son desaturated to 0 and I had to bag him/give him CPR 7-8x a day for almost two weeks. There were days I thought my son wasn’t going to make it and there were days where I thought that Creed wouldn’t come out of this the same baby, but he is, and he did! My happy smiley boy is still there and has made tremendous progress over this prolonged stay. 

Although Creed is a very complex baby, will have some developmental delays, and will need a third heart surgery sooner rather than later he, is so resilient. 

He has spent over half his life in the PICU and is finally in a stable place where I don’t have thoughts of losing him. Our goal was to get him out of the PICU before his first birthday and I think we WILL accomplish that. He’s a strong baby and has taught me as a mother to be strong too and to advocate loudly. There were days I felt I had to go to war for him with the medical team, and repeat myself over and over again, but when I look at my baby… I see a miracle baby and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him. 

If you would like to follow along you can find Creed’s Journey on Instagram @creedsjourney

Our names are Natalie and John Jones, Elliana’s mom and dad. 

She was born June 11, 2023, a healthy, much-prayed-for miracle. For her first 17 months, I stayed home with her; she was tiny but thriving. When I returned to my passion—pet grooming—we enrolled her in a daycare we loved. In November 2024, she began catching one virus after another, with barely two-week breaks. Her pediatrician hoped for six-week intervals so her immune system could strengthen.

On March 6, 2025, she was treated for bronchitis. On March 25, she developed viral pink eye and ran a persistent fever. By March 31, her temperature hit 104.7°F, and we rushed her to Women’s & Children’s Hospital in Lafayette, LA. 

An X-ray revealed left lower-lobe pneumonia; despite antibiotics and oxygen, her lungs “whited out” within 24 hours. She was transferred to the NICU, where an echocardiogram showed her heart was weak and enlarged. The term “heart failure” was spoken, and we agreed to transfer her to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston via the Kangaroo Crew on April 2.

At Texas Children’s, we received incredible care, but on April 3 she coded during a CPAP attempt. The team intubated her, and she was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy. We learned she’d likely been born with a weak heart, worsened by repeated infections. 

On April 10, she underwent open-heart surgery to receive the Berlin Heart EXCOR VAD. The procedure went well—her heart size decreased, and she’s off sedation, the ventilator, and supplemental oxygen.

Now, we face a long hospital stay as we await a potential transplant. We’re living at the hospital, four hours from home, and unable to work. Every donation helps with food, gas, bills, and relocation for at least a year post-transplant. We’re here for her, day by day, with gratitude for every prayer, emotional support, and gift. 

Thank you for reading our story—and for helping save our little Shugga.