Rob and Mindy Seay of Anchorage, Alaska, were set to welcome the birth of their child when thy received some terrible news, that the baby boy had a birth defect that would leave his heart in the wrong place in his tiny body and he may not survive.

According to an ABC News report, infant Linclon Seay underwent multiple surgeries, trying to keep the blood flowing through his body, as doctors fought to save his life, but the operations were simply not enough to fix the problems that were plaguing the child.  The doctors told the parents their baby would have to get a heart transplant to live.

Mindy and Rob relocated to Seattle, Washington, to be closer to Seattle’s Children’s Hospital to give their son the best chance of surviving, but at 7 months of age, Lincoln’s health was declining rapidly.  Dr. Michael McMullen, surgical director of heart transplantation at Seattle Children’s Hospital, did not think the child had very much time left.

“He’s been pretty sick and getting sicker.  I think he was about to die on us, right before he fell off the edge, a heart became available,” said Dr. McMullen.

Lincoln went into cardiac arrest, but the doctors were able to revive him, and his father said he had begun to turn purple.  Four days later, the family received the miraculous news that a heart had become available.  Almost as quickly, the family’s elation returned to fear for Lincoln’s life, as he went into cardiac arrest again as he was being prepared for his transplant.

The surgery team was able to hook Lincoln up to the heart by-pass machine that would have been used during the transplant in record time to keep him alive.  Dr. McMullen said they got him on the machine in 12 minutes, a procedure that normally can take as much as two hours to perform.

The heart transplant was a success and Lincoln’s health was noticeably better almost immediately.  His mom, Mindy, said, “His color is incredibly different, it’s pink and vibrant and he woke up with so much energy.  We joked, ‘He woke up thinking he was the Hulk.'”

Lincoln still faces several more months in the hospital, but doctors are optimistic about a recovery  His parents are anxious to get their boy home, and to share his story with others facing similar circumstances.  Mindy said she hoped Lincoln’s story would raise awareness about organ donation, and give other families hope.