SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — "Hi guys. My name is Nehemiah. I've been in this hospital for so long," said 13-year-old Nehemiah Maldonado to his TikTok followers.
Nehemiah Maldonado has spent the past 7 months at Rady Children's Hospital.
"I used to play basketball. Now, I can barely even walk," he says.
His parents first knew something was wrong when Nehemiah had the stomach flu. This turned into something much worse when Arizona doctors heard his heart murmur which sent him to the ER.
Doctors diagnosed him with cardiomyopathy, a disease that makes it difficult for your heart to pump blood to the rest of the body which can lead to heart failure.
"The hardest part for me was seeing my family cry. It was terrible. I didn’t know what was going on. When I see them cry, I tear up and now I'm starting to tear up. I just want them to be happy," said Nehemiah.
He was transferred from Arizona to Rady Children's Hospital where doctors performed a heart and kidney transplant.
This is the first time this procedure has been done at Rady Children’s and for his age group, only the second time in the California in the last 5 years.
"Just a few months ago, my son was fighting for his life. Now, we're starting a new chapter. You see it on TV and when it actually happens to you, it's mind blowing," said Nehemiah's father, William Maldanado.
"I think I just stay positive. It's so hard. You're sad, but just try to be happy because if you're happy, you're parents are happy and then you will feel happy after that," said Nehemiah.
"He taught us how to be strong and live life no matter what is thrown at you. Life throws you lemons and he made lemonade. He made a frosty. He made everything. I named him Nehemiah for "strong" and he showed me how to be strong," said William.
Nehemiah is slowly feeling back to himself and has big plans for the future.
"I want to be a nurse or do therapy like the people here. I want to talk to the kids and make them feel better about themselves. I want all the kids to feel good about themselves," said Nehemiah.
Nehemiah did a short walk outside Rady Children's as many nurses and doctors congratulated him. As he cried, he hugged many of his nurses and his family members.
Nehmiah and his family will spend the next few months here at the Ronald McDonald house as he continues his recovery process.
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