Teen reunites with his dog after heart transplant

By Maureen Gilmer, Riley Children’s Health senior writer, mgilmer1@iuhealth.org

Two weeks ago, Duncan Diehl, 15, had what might be one of his best days ever. He rang the bell to finish rehab following a heart transplant, and he was reunited with his beloved dog, Peggy, outside Riley Hospital for Children.

It was hard to tell who was more excited. Both were grinning.

Peggy was a surprise visitor, brought by Duncan’s older brother, Dylan Collins, to celebrate Duncan’s last day of COLTT (Center of Life for Thoracic Transplant), located at IU Health Methodist Hospital.

It was a sweet reunion, as Dylan and Peggy came up behind Duncan, who was enjoying the fresh air in the green space across from Riley with his mom, Nina Collins. The family lives in Lafayette, Indiana.

There were hugs and sloppy kisses and lots of tail wags between the boy and his dog.

The two hadn’t seen each other since before Duncan’s transplant Jan. 12, exactly two months earlier. The family got Peggy as a pup last summer.

It was last Mother’s Day when Duncan first became ill, but no one knew what it was at first. He stayed home from school for nearly a week, but the following Sunday, he told his mom he was having trouble breathing.

That began a two-week back-and-forth with doctors and urgent care in Lafayette to look for answers. Finally, Collins had had enough.

“He’d try to sleep at night and wake up gasping for air,” she said. “One night he said he was hot, but his skin was clammy, and I remember seeing my dad that way before his heart condition was diagnosed. That was the moment I’m like, I’m pretty sure this is his heart. I’m not messing around anymore. Riley is the one place where I know they’re going to take my concerns seriously.”

Her older son, Dylan, now 23, had been a Riley patient as a baby when he battled liver cancer, so she knew she would get answers there.

She loaded Duncan into the car and drove him to the Emergency Department at Riley, where Duncan was almost immediately taken back for care due to his alarming symptoms.

And so began a journey that she never thought she’d be on. Duncan didn’t have any heart issues that she was aware of. Testing later revealed that the teen was suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that makes it hard for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body.

It can be caused by infection, diabetes, high blood pressure and other issues, and if left untreated, it can lead to heart failure.

Still, when cardiologist Dr. Sabena Hussain brought up the possibility of transplant, it was a lot for Collins to process.

“Dr. Hussain, bless her, she was really great about telling me what I needed to know when I needed to know it, and not worrying me unnecessarily before it was time,” Collins said.

There was another Riley team member who supported the family during that time, someone they knew from 20-plus years earlier.

Laura Weiger, social worker on the Heart Center, previously worked in a similar capacity on the hematology/oncology team at Riley and had met Collins and her older son during his cancer treatment in 2003.

Imagine both women’s surprise when they passed each other outside an elevator at Riley last June. At the time, Duncan was in the stepdown unit, but when his condition worsened and he was moved to the CVICU, Weiger was there to help once again.

“Because Laura and I had the best relationship from ages ago, when I found myself in this situation with Duncan and his care, there was already this ease with her,” Collins said.

“It was just this huge weight that I didn’t have to bear. Without having Laura on the team, I don’t know what kind of extra worry I would have had. I knew she was going to advocate for us.”

Watching Collins caring for her son in the hospital, Weiger knew the single mom was still the same strong, reliable parent she remembered from Dylan’s cancer journey as a baby.

“It means everything to me to support this family,” the social worker said. “It’s validating to see that a seed that was planted so long ago with this relationship was able to continue to grow and the time was right again. They are just a wonderful family. They have a special place in my heart.”

Weiger stepped up to support Duncan and his mom when it became clear that he would need an LVAD (left ventricular assist device) to help his weakened heart pump blood, providing a path to transplant.

Collins remains grateful for their honest relationship.

“I always felt part of the team and that my concerns were valid,” she said. “I felt safe to ask questions, and Laura was instrumental in that.”

Dr. Jeremy Herrmann was the Riley heart surgeon who placed both the LVAD and performed Duncan’s heart transplant. Because Duncan was so weak when the LVAD was implanted, his recovery was tough.

“Duncan showed a great deal of character after the VAD placement,” Dr. Herrmann said. “He worked hard to prepare for the ultimate transplant surgery, then basically sailed through it. He and his mother made a tremendous impression on the Heart Center, and many people celebrated his transplant.”

Today, Duncan, who towers over his mom at 6-2, is happy to be going home again, to play with his dog again, draw comic books and start planning for the next holiday. He’s a master at event planning, his mom says, most recently celebrating Mardi Gras while staying at the Ronald McDonald House during COLTT sessions.

The high school sophomore is not keen on heading back to school just yet, but he’ll be doing plenty of homework – academically to catch up on his studies and physically to take care of his body and his new heart.

And his mom said she finally feels like she can look forward again, thanks to the blessing of a donated heart and the care of the Riley team.

“Up to now, I’ve just been focused on ‘here’s what we have to do now.’ I always and forever had the roadmap in mind, like here are the steps we need to take to get us on the list.”

And now with a new heart, she said, the road is “wide open.”

Photos submitted and by Mike Dickbernd, IU Health visual journalist, mdickbernd@iuhealth.org