Why Nathan, The Rare Heart Warrior, Doesn't Take Life For Granted

Meet Nathan. Just like a lot of people, Nathan loves the hit show American Ninja Warrior and admires all the contestants and their individual stories. What’s different is how Nathan got into the show and why he admires them so much. Contestants show him that you can get through anything no matter the challenge it brings. Nathan became invested in the show when he was diagnosed with a rare heart disease.

Nathan was born with an Absent Left Pulmonary Artery. A condition that is so rare that it usually isn’t found until adulthood when it is too late to correct. Absent left pulmonary artery creates zero symptoms in childhood.

Nathan was living a very active and healthy lifestyle. When he was six years old, Nathan developed the Flu and went to meet with doctors because of it. It was then, where a doctor discovered a heart murmur. The doctor then directed Nathan to the Pediatric Cardiologist who then discovered the Absent Left Pulmonary Artery. The Murmur was unrelated to the condition.

To put it all into perspective for those who may not understand the rare condition Nathan was born with, only his right lung and right side of his heart were working properly. The left side of both the lung and heart were, in essence, shut off, a.k.a. absent.

Nathan and his family credit the amazing doctors and nursing staff at The Sibley Heart Center in Atlanta who were able to place a stent into his Left Pulmonary Artery, which had never seen blood flow before. Until Nathan’s case, this had never been seen before and considered impossible in anyone after the age of 2. Nathan was seven at the time.

At age eight, Nathan had his very first open-heart surgery to correct this issue. The surgeon successfully used biological tissue to create a connection with Nathan’s Left Pulmonary Artery. Thus, creating blood flow and enabling both sides of his heart and lungs to work properly.

At such a young age, Nathan is a pretty smart kid and most certainly doesn’t take life for granted. Nathan realizes it could have been different for him and been a lot worse. Thankfully, because of his doctor that he had seen for the flu discovered a heart murmur and sent him to the cardiologist, he was able to be treated in time. If the murmur hadn’t had been discovered and Nathan just went on with his life, he could have developed major complications as an adult which would possibly lead to heart failure. Nathan even got a second opinion from Boston Children’s Hospital (one of the best in the world), who advised him not to correct the issue because it was so unlikely that it would work.

Luckily, it did work, and he is able to go back to living his active and fun lifestyle that he deserves. His symptoms never came because he was so young, and they only would have as an adult if he never had the surgery. Now, he can live his life to the fullest without any restrictions.

Nathan knows he isn’t like most CHD patients and how lucky he is to be here. Open heart surgery was the hardest challenge Nathan has faced in his young life, but the journey from the beginning is what makes him so grateful. Even after surgery when he had all the different tubes coming out from all over his body, and when trying to walk after surgery was extremely difficult, Nathan knows that he can get through it no matter what and makes an effort to convince other heart warriors they are no different!