Sept. 23, 2016
By Jack Smith
Like all Auburn fans, Davis Boswell's little heart might skip a beat when the eagle soars at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday.
But unlike anyone else, the 15-month-old miracle baby of Auburn alumni Tucker and Amanda Boswell might also feel something else as his new friends from Baton Rouge stand and cheer for their Tigers.
That's because while Davis wears orange and blue, his heart bleeds purple and gold.
If you don't believe in miracles, you may not have heard his story. It is a story of unselfish acts that saved a baby in the midst of tragedy, doctors who would not give up and parents who now understand more than ever the gift of life and will forever champion the cause of organ donation.
Less than a week after his birth, Davis was dying from a common virus. With no immune system to fight it off, the enterovirus attacked his heart and inflicted irreparable damage to its left side.
The right side of his tiny heart was forced to do all the work to keep baby Davis alive, but it quickly became weaker. Davis was dying. His parents were told to prepare for the worst.
His medical team at Children's Hospital in Birmingham didn't give up, though. They never gave up despite their risky and limited options. They never gave up even though the prognosis was so grim one doctor told the Boswells it was time to start thinking about whether they were doing more to their baby than they were doing for him.
Heart transplant was the only option that would ultimately save Davis' life, but the odds of getting there were not good. Doctors first had to turn to a heart and lung bypass machine called ECMO just to keep him alive. But ECMO would only extend his life. It wouldn't sustain life long enough to get to the transplant stage, which seemed far away.
At several low points in their remarkable journey, it looked as if Tucker and Amanda should stop considering options and start planning a funeral. Their pastor was even called in to counsel them.
But at the moment the minister from Auburn was consoling them, one of their doctors interrupted the meeting. That may have been an unusual occurrence, but what would happen next was even more rare.
Hail Mary for the heart
The doctor who had at first opposed the idea had changed his mind about a risky course of action another doctor suggested, a Hail Mary for the heart. They wanted to give Davis an artificial heart that could sustain his life until a transplant could happen.
Davis Boswell soon became the youngest patient ever to receive the Berlin Heart in the United States. He was 17 days old.
Doctors told his frightened parents that Davis had a one-in-three chance of surviving the surgery and then making it to the heart transplant stage. They knew the Berlin heart was only a bridge to get Davis there.
The Boswell family meets Auburn Director of Athletics Jay Jacobs on the field prior to a recent home game. They will be joined by Perry family from Monroe, La., on the field before the Auburn vs. LSU game on Saturday.
There were major complications almost immediately. Davis' artificial heart stopped beating, and the parents were once again told to prepare for the worst.
But just as his doctors and his family had never given up, Davis didn't either. His tiny body finally accepted the artificial heart.
Now the Boswells had to endure another hard chapter in Davis' life. The waiting game.
They would wait 115 days for a match. Fall came and went. Amanda even dressed little Davis as the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz. If he only had a heart.
The Boswells' faith had been tested time and again, but the waiting game may have been the hardest part. Tucker says it's a bad feeling to pray for a heart when you know what becoming a donor recipient means for another family: Unimaginable grief.
"It's a helpless feeling to be in a hospital knowing something has to happen to another baby for yours to be able to live and have a normal life," Tucker said. "It's so tough and so hard."
Amanda said the entire experience strengthened her faith. She and Tucker spent many hours in prayer together.
"One of the things we prayed about all along, before we even knew who it was and we were placed on the list, we prayed God would give whatever family it was the peace and comfort that only he can give."
While Tucker and Amanda were praying and waiting in Birmingham, another family was dealing with an entirely different outcome for their baby. The nightmare for Jonathan and Holley Perry of Monroe, La., also began with what seemed to be routine sickness. Their baby had a fever and had to be picked up from school.
Jonathan had to scrap plans for a duck hunting trip to take his 6-month-old son, John Clarke, to the doctor. It was much more than an ear infection. It turned into tragedy all too quickly. John Clarke underwent two emergency surgeries as doctors tried to stop a severe brain bleed.
The surgeries failed. John Clarke had an abnormal blood vessel formation, and the bleeding never stopped. Jonathan and Holley were in disbelief as they were faced with the decision to take their son off life support.
An organ donation representative at the hospital came by to tell the family their options. The couple had discussed it and agreed they wanted John Clarke's organs to be donated.
Amanda Boswell says Davis is a happy, healthy and joyful toddler nine months after heart transplant surgery.
Amanda Boswell said she will always be grateful for what happened next. As she recounts the story, Holley immediately asked the question pressing on her mind when the hospital representative was explaining the process.
"What about the heart?" Holley asked.
"Six-month-old babies don't need hearts," she was told.
"Well," Amanda says, "we had a 5-month-old baby who did need a heart.
"Holley was adamant about it, which I just believe is because the Lord put that on their heart. I think it says a lot about them. The fact she was able to be so adamant about something in that moment of unimaginable grief speaks volumes to her character and who they are."
Holley didn't take no for an answer.
The representative returned to their room with news that there might be an opportunity for John Clarke's organs to be donated, but nothing was said about his heart. So Holley asked again. She finally got the answer she had been hoping and praying to hear.
An answered prayer
When the match was confirmed, Davis' doctors in Birmingham flew to Louisiana in a race against the clock. Tucker Boswell received a late-night call in Birmingham that there might be a match and Davis was being prepped for surgery. He struggled with the decision of whether to call Amanda until they knew for sure, but he made the call.
And they soon got word of the news they had been praying they would hear. The doctors had a heart. And they were on their way back to Birmingham.
The transplant surgery was difficult, and Davis again struggled in the early stages. His new heart stopped beating three times. Doctors finally turned to the heart-lung bypass machine again to give the heart time to rest. They were confident the complications weren't rejection but just one more hurdle in Davis' race for life.
They were right. By the third day, the heart began beating on its own.
While Jonathan and Holley Perry were devastated by the grief of losing a child, their gift had become an answer to a prayer.
But the story doesn't end there. While the Perry family was told to never try to discover or meet the donor recipients, Jonathan Perry was curious. He couldn't help his urge to explore social media and Google until he found an answer to an odd tip he'd gotten in an email.
A woman who had followed both stories on Facebook had figured it out. She told Jonathan she thought she knew the baby who received John Clarke's heart was in Auburn, Ala.
The families eventually verified it, and East Alabama Medical Center soon got involved. A Donate Life event was held at the hospital in April.
It was no ordinary program. It was a powerful testimony about the life-giving act of organ donation.
'Like having a blind first date'
The Perry and Boswell families finally met for the first time the night before the event. What the Boswells worried might be awkward and hard was as natural and pure as the wide grin their miracle baby almost always has on his face.
"We were nervous," Tucker said. "I think Jonathan said it best...it was like having a blind first date. We didn't really know what to expect. We were anxious. Excited. Nervous. Emotional. All those feelings were running through us. It was difficult because we had the happy ending, and they didn't."
The question the Boswells struggled with most of all was what exactly to say to Jonathan and Holley Perry, who lost their child but made a decision that saved their precious baby's life.
"What do you say more than thank you?" Tucker said.
"Thank you just does not feel like enough," Amanda added. "We wanted them to truly know and feel how appreciative we were. There are no words to tell someone thank you for something like this. We just hope they felt it from that first meeting."
By all accounts, they did.
The families first met away from the cameras in the chapel of EAMC the night before the event. Amanda says there was an immediate connection. More than one, actually. The two couples felt like they had known each other forever.
And when Holley reached her arms out to hold Davis for the first time, something magical happened.
"He's always pretty calm, but most babies would fuss a little bit with someone they don't know in that situation. But he didn't. He went right to her. He did the same thing with Jonathan."
Amanda was struck by Holley's strength during what had to be an emotionally overwhelming moment.
"I can't imagine the emotions she must have felt to lose her child and then hold and see this little miracle," Amanda said, her misty brown eyes turning to Davis as he crawled across the floor of their Auburn home, smiling.
A special bond between the mothers was also evident from the moment they met.
"We just hugged," Amanda said. "We have a lot in common. Our children are the same ages."
And they have a bond few others on the planet have.
An unbreakable bond
"A heart that was formed in her womb in her baby is now beating in the body of a child that was formed in my womb," Amanda said. "We just have this bond that is like no other. It's not something I can really explain or put into words. We will always have this bond with each other."
The meeting both families felt a little anxious about turned out to be a celebration of sorts, even if it was also in some ways painful for the Perrys.
"For them to be able to meet us and to be able to hold Davis and be involved like they are, it shows the Lord has truly answered our prayer of giving them that peace and comfort," Amanda said. "How else would you be able to do it?"
Tucker and Amanda have Hudson, age 3, and Davis, now 15 months. They are Auburn through and through. Their dad even admits the name "Davis" won out in an NCAA Tournament style bracket the couple drew up with their favorite names in part because of Chris Davis and another admittedly less important miracle they've witnessed--the Kick Six. As for his oldest's namesake, "it didn't hurt" that Tim Hudson is another of their favorite Auburn athletes.
The Perrys have two daughters, Emarie and Ella, John Clarke's twin.
All of them will gather in Auburn this weekend to watch the Tigers play. The Auburn Tigers for the Boswell family. The Bayou Bengals for the Perrys.
The Boswells say they most look forward to the chance to share what makes Auburn special with their friends who are now like family, connected at the heart of the little boy who is a miracle if there ever were one.
"I can't wait to share the traditions we have and teach them about the history of Auburn," Tucker says proudly. "I'm looking forward to showing them Toomer's Corner. I can't wait to take them to all the places that are uniquely Auburn and show them why we love it. Hopefully, they will love it, too."
The couples will have an experience like few others. Plans are in the works to meet Coach Gus Malzahn and Coach Les Miles. They will attend a Friday Football Luncheon as a special guest of Auburn Director of Athletics Jay Jacobs. They will be on the sidelines for the pre-game show.
Their story has already touched countless people. On Saturday, it will inspire millions more as ESPN airs a segment on it.
Tucker and Amanda both say they entire experience has given them a new perspective on the importance of college football, which Tucker admits used to determine his happiness for days at the time.
So does their change of heart mean they might start pulling for LSU, at least when they aren't playing Auburn?
"Let's not go that far," Amanda says with a laugh.
In fact, Tucker says he knows he and Jonathan will both be pulling for their teams as hard as they always have.
He hopes he doesn't have to hear "Tiger Rag" blaring from the LSU band more than once or twice as night falls Saturday.
But who knows how Davis will feel when those stirring notes are played from the northwest corner of Jordan-Hare Stadium?
The miracle baby with a heart that connects two amazing families--and in a way two great schools--just might feel differently.
His heart just might flutter again.