Last year, Devante Swopes-Clay lived life like any other junior. When winter arrived he noticed he was getting sick more often than normal. Eventually, Swopes-Clay caught pneumonia and, as his lungs filled up, he went into congestive heart failure. Immediately, Swopes-Clay’s life changed forever. He went from being a normal teenager with a pas- sion for roller skating, to being on the donor list for a heart transplant. Last February, he underwent a heart transplant at Children’s Hospital that saved his life.
“I felt really scared at first,” Swopes-Clay, senior, said. “I was really worried about the chest tube and wondered if I would make it out alive.”
Swopes-Clay had a team of supportive doctors and thanks his mother for keeping him calm, and being with him each step of the way.
“The same day of the surgery I started walking again,” Swopes-Clay said. “I felt stronger and couldn’t wait to do more. I re- ally wanted to get back to skating.”
As he waited for his chest to heal, there was list of things he couldn’t and still cannot do. Swopes-Clay now has to take daily medi- cine and has to stay away from drinks with grapefruit. One thing remained true for him throughout his entire experience, though: skating. He realized life was too short to stay away from what he loves and skating re- mained his inspiration and passion.
“If someone was going through this same thing, I would advise them to relax,” Swopes- Clay said. “You want to focus on the things you will be able to do after.”