Eight-year-old Skylin Williams, from New Albany, Indiana, is celebrating the new year in a way she once thought was a distant dream — at home with her family, thanks to a lifesaving heart transplant. After a difficult journey filled with uncertainty, Skylin has a story that serves as a testament to resilience, hope and the power of modern medicine.

Skylin’s health crisis began in April 2024 when her mother, Kaylyn Williams, took her to Norton Children’s Hospital, believing her daughter was experiencing a respiratory illness. The diagnosis, however, turned their lives upside down: Skylin was in end-stage heart failure.

“She had hours to live,” Kaylyn said, conveying the gravity of the situation.

In a move that would change everything, Sarah J. Wilkens, M.D., pediatric cardiologist with Norton Children’s Heart Institute, along with the team at the institute, decided to insert a temporary heart pump.

Skylin became the youngest and smallest person in the world to receive the device. This critical intervention gave her a fighting chance and stabilized her condition, paving the way for a much-needed heart transplant.

Kaylyn describes the 236 days Skylin spent as an inpatient at Norton Children’s Hospital — a harrowing 201 days waiting for a new heart. The emotional toll of waiting for a lifesaving organ is immense, filled with days of uncertainty and fear.

“The waiting is very, very, very difficult, because you never know what each day brings,” she said.

On Nov. 22, 2024, the long-awaited call came: Skylin’s new heart was ready.

Her reaction was one of profound hope and gratitude.

“I’ve been waiting a very, very long time,” Skylin said.

The transplant surgery was a success, and just 18 days into her recovery, Skylin was up and walking.

Kaylyn describes the transformation: “It’s given her such a better quality of life than I could have ever dreamed was possible, because when we first got here, she was so close to death.”

With her new heart, Skylin isn’t just recovering physically; she is also reclaiming her childhood. Excited to return to her favorite activities and experience life as a typical kid, Skylin embodies the spirit of hope.

The Williams family is filled with gratitude for the medical team that monitored Skylin, for the donor family whose generosity bestowed this precious gift and for the community that rallied around them during their darkest days. “At first I was sad,” Skylin said. “But now I’m happy.”