Remembering Madison Parrott, the young girl who received a heart transplant in 2014
BALTIMORE — Every now and then we report a story here at WJZ that just stays with us. That was the case eight years ago when we told you about little Madison Parrott, whose life was saved by a heart transplant that WJZ cameras witnessed firsthand in the operating room with her.
Sadly, not all stories have the ending we hope for.
Just two weeks ago, on January 3, 2023, we lost Maddy. She was 13 years old. Her life was short – too short. But her parents say, in those few years, she left a legacy of bravery and perseverance.
April 2014: "What's happening? Why are we here?"
Maddy, five years old: "To get a new heart!"
That's how we first met five-year-old Madison Parrott, as she prepped for surgery at Johns Hopkins Children's Center, playful and full of spunk.
"Nobody can keep up with me!," Maddy said.
After a 10-hour surgery to give Maddy a new heart, it was hard to keep up with her.
"When she came home from the transplant, she was able to run around the whole baseball field, you know. She was so excited," remembered Maddy's mother, Dana Parrott when we spoke with her and Maddy's father, Marvin Parrott this month, just days after Maddy passed away.
For eight wonderful years, with only one episode of rejection, Maddy's new heart allowed her to live life to the fullest.
"Maddy had goals. She wanted to be a veterinarian. She loved animals. She had so much spunk, energy. She was an honor student. She was cheerleading – she was a flyer," said Maddy's father, Marvin Parrott. "Life was normal for her. It was normal."
"Yes. Absolutely. A blessing—a blessing for her to have been able to live to the age of 13."
On December 13th, Maddy began having chest pains. Doctors determined it was a heart attack. To live, she would need another heart.
When Maddy was younger, Marvin and Dana were told to prepare for this – that the donor heart would not last her lifetime.
"We knew that she would need a new heart but, you know, with modern medicine advancements, we were hoping we'd get at least 20 years," Dana explained.
But, here Maddy was, back at Hopkins, spending Christmas in a hospital bed.
"She had faith in God, you know. Whenever she would get a little afraid going to the O.R. for a procedure, we would sing her song," Marvin shared, then sang some of that song for us.
January 3rd, Maddy was home when, in the middle of the night, the chest pains returned.
"We get into the room and she's just smiling. And I'm like, Madison why are you smiling? Why are you laughing? You're having chest pains. But, I just believe she was really at peace and that last smile that I still have in my memory of her was a different kind of smile. And I just believe it's because she was comforted by God," said Dana.
In the morning, Dana went in to find Maddy gone.
At Maddy's church, on January 14th, they sang the song that always gave her such comfort.
"Maddy's story is one of—it's a story of perseverance. It's a story of triumph. She really was like a miracle child from the beginning and everybody just gravitated and loved her… everybody."
Upon her death, Maddy herself became an organ donor.
Dana and Marvin have set up a foundation, The Hearts for Maddy Foundation, to help other transplant survivors and their families.
