A Maryland teenager celebrated his heart transplant by breaking into dance from his hospital bed. In footage of the emotional moment spotted by CNN, 15-year-old Amari Hall is seen dancing with contagious joy just days after the surgery that saved his life.
Hall was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a congenital heart defect. The syndrome is described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a birth defect that has an adverse impact on the flow of blood through the heart:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that each year about 960 babies in the United States are born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.1 In other words, about 1 out of every 4,344 babies born in the United States each year is born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
By the time he was two years old, Hall had undergone three corrective heart surgeries. 13 years later, a cardiologist told Hall and his family the heart had "started to fail." In December 2016, Hall entered the University of Maryland Medical Center and awaited a transplant. Months later, the family was informed that a heart had been found.
In a Facebook post last month, Hall's aunt—who filmed the original video—called on fans of the clip to help Hall's story go viral. "I know that many of you are inspired by our Awesome Amari dancing 6 days after his heart transplant," Charawn Hunter wrote. "We would like the world to see how awesome he is!! He loves LeBron but I know he's busy but please help me making his video go viral [sic]."
Hall will continue to be monitored by doctors to make sure his body accepts the new heart, but his recovery is going well. "I want to be dancing with the ladies," Hall, who recently took his girlfriend out on a date, toldABC News.
