Metro Atlanta boy receives heart transplant after 200-day hospital stay

STONECREST, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A 6-year-old Loganville boy is back home after a 212-day stay at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, which ended in a heart transplant.

Khu’meri Williams’ family noticed something was wrong when he lost his energy and had trouble eating right after the start of kindergarten.

“Really, he was just going down so fast,” said Sara Gibson, Khu’meri’s mother.

The normally boisterous boy, then 5 years old, began wasting away.

“For two-and-a half, three weeks, he was losing so much weight,” Gibson said.

His parents took him to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where doctors discovered that Khu’meri was suffering from severe heart failure, pumping only a fraction of the blood necessary. He was put on the transplant list.

“He was in the ICU the first month,” Gibson said. “We stayed there, me and his dad.”

At Children’s, Khu’meri became friends with the staff. He even met his hero, Sonic the Hedgehog.

“I actually met him twice,” Khu’meri corrected when asked about the meeting.

For 200 days, Khu’meri lived at the hospital. On day 200, Sara got the call.

“I ran across the parking lot towards the hotels, and I was just screaming,” Gibson said.

On day 202, Khu’meri got his new heart. On day 212, he returned home. He turned six on April 5.

“He has a cut from here to here and holes from here to here,” Gibson said, showing where the marks were on Khu’meri’s body.

Khu’meri requires lifelong medication and is limited to certain foods and pets.

“He can’t have any animal other than a cat, dog or a fish. So, now he kind of wants a puppy,” Gibson said.

“No, I want a fish,” Khu’meri said.

“You want a fish?” Gibson responded. “OK. Well, a fish, then.”

Now, thanks to Children’s, he’s back to being a kid and finishing kindergarten.

“I couldn’t imagine a better experience,” Gibson said.