ST MICHAEL, Minn. — For many kids, the excitement of a school bus ride home begins to wear off a few days into a new year.
For 5-year-old Temi Adebisi and her family, it's still a moment worth celebrating to the max.
"Hi Temi! Hello!" said Toyin Adebisi, who wrapped her daughter up in a massive hug when she stepped off the bus last week. "Welcome home!"
It's been a few weeks since Temi's first bus ride and a few months since she was cleared to return home following a long-awaited heart transplant, but her excitement has yet to fade.
"She's so much more active than before, just so much happier," said Temi's older brother, Akorede Adebisi. "I'm just so happy about it."
Her sibling's hearts are full because their 5-year-old sister is finally free to be a kid again after spending nearly a quarter of her life tethered to a reality most adults would struggle to cope with.
"My sister is doing well after she left the hospital," said her older sister, Ireoluwa Adepbisi. "She was living in there for a year until she finally came out."
15 Months of Waiting
Temi's stay at Children's Minnesota began in March of 2023, following a sudden and life-threatening diagnosis.
"The medical word we use is dilated cardiomyopathy," Dr. Adam Putschoegl said. "That's really just a big heart that's not squeezing well."
Fortunately, the Ventricular Assist Device helped buy Temi valuable time as she awaited a new heart.
"It's basically an artificial pump that sits outside of her body, to help to support her heart," Dr. Putschoegl said. "If she didn't have the device she probably wouldn't survive."
But that lifeline could only be unplugged for 20 minutes at a time, meaning she was stuck in the hospital until they could find a new heart.
KARE11 first shared Temi's story in March, as Temi marked a full year living, and waiting inside the hospital.
The Call Finally Comes
In June, Temi's parents finally received the life-saving call they had been hoping and praying for.
"The call came in the middle of the night," said Toyin Adebisi. "I was so excited I started having heart palpitations. Then I started crying."
"I heard (my mom) screaming and crying and then I burst out of my room, and I just saw her on the phone and I was like what's wrong?'" Akorede Adebisi said. "She was like, 'Temi is coming home. Temi is getting a heart!' I burst into tears. I started jumping everywhere. I was so happy. I couldn't believe it."
"It was multiple, multiple joy, multiple blessings for us," said Temi's father, Abi Adebisi.
One of those blessings is reflected in a message Temi left to her old heart in the hours before her transplant.
"I will miss you so much," Toyin said, reading from an inscription titled "My beautiful old heart" that was dictated by her daughter. "My old best friend. I will love you always in my memory. I have a new best friend."
Speaking of that new best friend, Temi has another heartfelt message to her daughter, and their family.
"I love you," she said. "Thank you."
"We are praying for them always," Abi said. "Because what they did it's so rare... and huge. We're still looking forward to meeting them one day."
"We would love to tell them thank you again," Toyin said. " They are our hero because without them we would not have Temi."
A Quick Recovery
Just one week after her transplant Temi was on the road home from the hospital, following a very special send off parade from her care team at Children's Minnesota.
"I still remember that day," Toyin said. "I was crying. I was crying. It was tears of joy. That finally, the storm is over."
"I was like super duper happy, happy, happy," Temi said.
In the two months since she was discharged, Temi and her family have moved into a new home in a new neighborhood. Add in her first few weeks of kindergarten and it's easier to understand why the celebrations continue.
"It's just joy, joy, joy," Toyin said. "And it's so beautiful."