On Dec. 28, 2025, 15-year-old Xavier Lazarro-Miller received the most incredible gift of his life: A new heart.
But he and his parents also had an opportunity to acknowledge his other heart — the one that had been removed during the transplant surgery.
Through the UW Health Transplant Center’s new Original Heart Project, Xavier became the first pediatric heart transplant recipient to participate in a native heart viewing ceremony.
“It was crazy to see that that was inside me,” he said.
A surprise diagnosis
Although Xavier was born with a heart defect, he had no idea there was anything wrong until eighth grade. That was when he and his classmates participated in a 1-mile run during gym class, and afterward, he said he felt like he was having a panic attack.
“It was hard to breathe, I had tunnel vision and I threw up,” he said.
The school nurse thought he had a heart murmur, which turned out not to be true. But the warning spurred him and his parents to start down the long road of looking for a diagnosis. After undergoing an echocardiogram at a hospital in Green Bay, Wis., Xavier learned he had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease in which the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick, making it harder for the heart to pump blood.
“I knew I wasn’t normal,” Xavier said. “I kept telling my mom that there would be these moments where my heart would start racing. But that was my only symptom. Other than that, I felt fine.”
His doctor referred him to the UW Health Heart and Vascular Program in Madison, Wis., where pediatric cardiologist Dean Karahalios, DO, performed a catheterization and determined he would need a heart transplant.
“I was shocked,” Xavier said. “My whole life, I didn’t know that I had this problem. Honestly, I just wanted to get it over with.”
So, instead of going home after his catheterization, Xavier stayed at American Family Children’s Hospital to wait for a heart to become available. While his parents worried, he enjoyed himself.
“It was fun,” he said. “I had a one-on-one teacher, which was a lot easier than being in school. I had school for only two hours a day and I still made (the) honor roll. Plus, when you’re in the hospital, you get all this attention.”
After more than a month at the children's hospital, Xavier received his gift of life at the end of December.
Recovery and the opportunity of a lifetime
While Xavier enjoyed his pre-transplant time in the hospital, his recovery was a bit different.
“I woke up, and all I remember is having so much stuff in me,” he said. “I looked like a Transformer. It took the nurses about 20 minutes to get all the stuff untangled so I could get physical therapy.”
The next several weeks were challenging, but by the time he went home at the end of January, Xavier and his parents received a treat: The chance to view his original heart.
Several other children’s hospitals across the country have Original Heart Projects, where pediatric heart transplant recipients are invited to meet with their doctors while examining their old heart. The doctors teach them about what was wrong with their old heart, pointing out the telltale signs of disease.
“The purpose of it is to serve as a memory-making opportunity for families,” said Faith Schiefelbein, MSW, CAPSW, the hospital’s pediatric transplant social worker. “It’s one of the ways we’re trying to prevent disease from occurring in the transplanted heart.”
As part of the project, UW Health is partnering with Gunderson Funeral Homes, which offers to cremate heart transplant recipients’ original hearts for free. That’s especially appealing to Xavier’s parents, who are part of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin.
“As part of our tradition, we try to let go of the past,” said Xavier’s mom, Conjetta Lazarro. “I wanted the heart back because it is a part of him. We will be burying it in the Stockbridge-Munsee Community reservation (in Shawano County).”
As Xavier’s family waits for UW Health’s Pathology Department to complete its tests on his original heart, he and his parents remain grateful for all the support they have received before, during and after transplant.
“His team at the hospital is great,” said Conjetta. “They wanted the best heart for him.”
And Xavier himself is looking forward to being more active and getting back to in-person school.
“As time goes on, I’ll be able to do more and more,” he said.