LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Dozens of heart transplant recipients were reunited Sunday afternoon to celebrate the milestones they've reached and the gift they've been given.
Eleanor Westenhofer's is one of 38 pediatric heart transplant recipients honored at the event.
"I'm really into robotics and science, even though I'm in second grade starting third grade," she said.
The smart, animated 8-year-old has been through more than most, receiving her new heart as an infant.
"She was transplanted at 10 weeks old," Lindsey Westenhofer, Eleanor's mom, said. "We found out before she was born that she was going to need some special care in the heart department ... It is a very difficult situation to find yourself in."
Beat by beat, Eleanor is beating the odds. Her transplant hasn't held her back one bit.
"She's been a success story ever since," Westenhofer said.
Sunday's event was a celebration of hearts and it was made possible by the Norton Children's Heart Institute.
In 1986, the hospital performed the second successful neonatal heart transplant in the country. 75 children have received a heart transplant through the Norton Children's Heart Institute.
"Heart transplants are very complicated," Dr. Steve Hester said. "Lots of people are involved in that and really it was wonderful to be able to see all those individuals here today to celebrate with these patients."
Leslie Keown is one of the oldest living heart transplant recipients in the U.S. She had her transplant at just 9 days old at Norton Children's and now she's 32.
"It's a miracle," Keown said.
Without the heart donation, she says she wouldn't be here today. She received her heart from a 9-week-old baby.
"She lives inside me every day," Keown said. "She has a beautiful, strong heartbeat."
Sunday's celebration was a room filled with people who will never forget the gift they've been given.
"It is really almost impossible to put it into words how grateful for that kind of gift," Westenhofer said. "Because she was given a section chance and our family was given a second chance to remain whole, and we're forever grateful."
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