‘We got to the finish line’: 9-year-old P.E.I. boy enjoys homecoming after heart transplant

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Maverick Bishop has spent the last 20 months in Toronto waiting for a heart transplant. On Saturday, he finally returned home.

The nine-year-old boy from Stratford, P.E.I., was born with congenital heart disease.

After undergoing five open-heart surgeries before his fifth birthday, he was put on the waiting list for a heart transplant in September 2024.

The transplant went ahead in January. Following rehab and several post-surgery setbacks, he was finally cleared to return to the Island.

A boy wearing glasses stands outside smiling in front of a microphone — Maverick Bishop, 9, says he is excited to go back to school and play with his friends after returning home to Stratford, P.E.I., from Toronto. (Taylor O’Brien/CBC)

“It was cool to see all my friends happy, and that’s what I love,” Maverick said of the surprise party at his house.

He said it was amazing to see so many people there to welcome him home and he is excited to go back to school and play with his friends.

Why this P.E.I. family is lobbying the province to let younger people sign up to be organ donors

As 8-year-old Maverick Bishop waits in Toronto with his mom and baby sister for a donor heart to become available, the P.E.I. family is calling on the provincial government to change the rules on organ donations. Right now, you have to be 16 or older to sign up to donate organs if something should happen to you. Maverick’s family wants to see that age drop. CBC’s Laura Meader has the story.

Marie-Eve Roy, Maverick’s mother, said the family had to stay within a two-hour radius of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children for nearly two years in case a donor heart became available.

“He’s been waiting for this moment for so long, to just come home and play with his friends,” Roy said. “He can finally live a normal life.… He can feel it too, and it’s just very special to see him so proud of himself.”

After a 16-month wait, the family received a call that doctors had found a heart for Maverick on Jan. 30. He went in for surgery later that day.

A man and a woman wearing sunglasses stand outside in front of a microphone — Woodrow Bishop and Marie-Eve Roy, Maverick’s parents, say the welcome home party was an emotional surprise. ‘There’s a reason why I’m wearing sunglasses,’ Bishop says. (Taylor O’Brien/CBC)

Woodrow Bishop, Maverick’s father, said his son has been working hard at his rehabilitation. He said support from P.E.I. and all across Canada helped the family cope.

“It meant the world to us,” Bishop said, adding that the welcome home party was a huge surprise.

“There’s a reason why I’m wearing sunglasses,” Bishop said. “It’s extremely emotional. The look on his face when he’s doing things that he never could before — running, jumping.

“We got through a lot of challenging days and a lot of hurdles and, yeah, we got to the finish line.”