CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ella Kate Leitner is a spunky typical three-year-old, but her journey hasn’t been easy.
“We pray every night, and we say we're thankful for Ella's special heart,” said Melanie Leitner, Ella Kate’s mom.
Ella Kate was born with tumors throughout her little heart, and she needed a transplant to survive. Her mom still remembers the Sunday two years ago when she got the call they'd prayed for. Ella Kate was getting a new heart.
“In the middle of the first worship song, my pastor stopped service and said ‘Ella Kate is getting really bad,’” Melanie recalled.
The church prayed for the little girl and asked for a miracle. Their prayers were answered with a phone call that same day.
“On the way home from church, that day my phone rang,” Melanie said. “That's when the call came.”
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But not every family is as lucky.
“When God's ready for her to come home, she'll come home,” Samantha Evans told NBC Charlotte as she sat beside her baby Zaiya at Levine Children’s Hospital.
Zaiya is one of five babies at the hospital awaiting new hearts.
“She will not survive without a new heart,” Dr. Gonzalo Wallis told us.
Wallis is the medical director of the pediatric heart transplant program at Atrium Health. He said for babies like Zaiya there's a 30 percent chance they won't make it, but with a new heart, the survival rate is upwards of 98 percent.
‘Kids like her go to school, get married and with a little bit of help they have kids,” said Dr. Wallis. “The sky's the limit.”
For Ella Kate, the turnaround has been nothing short of miraculous.
“If it wasn't for the family that made the selfless decision to give life, I know our story would have a much different ending today,” Melanie said.
Never far from her mind is the little girl and the family who, in their darkest moment, chose to give them the ultimate gift. It’s a gift Melanie says she’ll never take for granted.
“I just decided that when I hold on to my Ella Kate, I'll hold on just a little bit tighter," Melanie said. "Because I'm holding onto their little girl too.”
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