Despite some setbacks, little Olivia adjusting to life with new heart

Six-year-old Olivia Billings enjoys swimming and is wishing for a Christmas puppy.

Two years ago the Green Ridge girl received a heart transplant followed by a rough year of adjusting to the new organ. In January 2009, Olivia had a valve replacement and a pace maker implanted. The scar tissue from the transplant blocked nerve signals that make the heart beat.

Olivia spent the first part of 2009 in and out of the hospital, and had monthly doctor’s appointments. Her mother, Lena Billings, home schooled the youngster.

“Toward the end of April she said, ‘Mom, I want to go back to school,’” Billings said.

Olivia finished as a kindergartner at Green Ridge Elementary and returned this year as a first grader. Her doctor’s in St. Louis recently deemed her well enough to transfer her less frequent checkups to a Kansas City hospital.

She remains on some medicines and will likely have to use the pace maker for the rest of her life.
“It’s not like we are totally better, but we are doing much better,” Billings said.

Billings and husband, Clifton, have taught Olivia that she has to be careful around magnets as it can interfere with the pacemaker. They told her see would need to stay away from the metal detectors, especially the “black wands” at the airport.

Olivia then began telling another parent who was staying at the Ronald McDonald House when Olivia was frequenting the St. Louis hospital: “I have to stay away from the black wind.” The parent was puzzled enough by the statement to ask Lena Billings about it.

“Then it dawned on me, the black wand,” she said.

The Billings will spend Christmas at home this year, then Lena and Olivia will fly to Texas to visit family for a week.

Every once in a while, Billings will worry about Olivia’s health, “but you try not to think about that kind of thing,” she said.

“It makes you appreciate each day, and knowing she has these types of problems makes you enjoy all the different things,” she said.