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Updated 4 hours ago
Scott Johnston always has been an active kid. He played hockey, rode dirt bikes and loves to ski the most difficult, formidable slopes he can find.
None of this would be possible without someone saying yes to organ donation, said his father Don Johnston.
Scott, 18, of Marshall, was born with a heart defect and received a heart transplant when he was just 2 weeks old.
“I feel obligated to give him these opportunities because I don't want to waste his heart,” Don Johnston said. “It would've been horrible not to give. A kid lost their life, a family lost their kid and that enabled him to have an active life. I don't want to miss that opportunity for that heart and give Scotty the life he deserves.”
Scott, a senior at North Allegheny Senior High School, was the recent recipient of a wish from the Make-A-Wish Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
For a week in January, the Johnston family stayed at the Snake River Lodge near the Teton Mountain Range in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Scott could ski all he wanted.
Make-A-Wish fulfills wishes for children living with life-threatening medical conditions, and the local chapter has fulfilled more than 17,000 wishes.
They left Jan. 15 for the Make-A-Wish trip, Don Johnston said. His parents and two sisters came along for the trip where Scott was able to have private lessons with an expert skier and guide. The guide took Scott all over to challenging parts of the mountain few others knew about.
“It was great — so much fun,” Scott said.
After breaking his leg riding dirt bikes, Scott took up skiing with his father about eight years ago, and it's become his passion. He hopes to attend the University of Utah after graduating from high school to be near the mountains and says he'd “major in skiing if he could,” although he'll probably go with accounting.
Don Johnston said Scotty has had a remarkable life, especially considering how his first month went.
Scott was born with a heart defect so severe that doctors gave his parents two options — hospice care or put their newborn son on the transplant list and hope an organ become available in time. He was rushed to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC where the family stayed for only two weeks until a heart became available, Don Johnston said. After 30 days in the hospital, Scott finally made his way home after being born. Other than a few health restrictions — no contact football and no competitive sprinting — Don Johnston said they've always let their son do what he wanted within reason. Scott works a part-time job after school and maintains his good grades, but he loves to hit the slopes every chance he gets.
“He loves to challenge himself and he wants to ski big bad massive snow hills,” Don Johnston said. “And that doesn't happen without getting that heart transplant. He's like the cover boy for what can happen with these kids who are transplanted.”
And for someone who's had a major organ transplant, Scott had led a relatively healthy life.
They've had a few bumps in the road over the years, rejection issues here and there, but Scott has always been active and cared for his health. Other than taking his medications morning and night, he doesn't think about it at all.
Rachel Farkas is a Tribune-Review contributor.
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