Remembering Holden Tin Man Flynn ????-2014 E-EDITION HOME DELIVERY DIGITAL MEMBERSHIPS PLACE AN AD JOBS CARS REAL ESTATE PUBLIC NOTICES 76° F Tuesday, April 1, 201412:36 PM EDT HOMEE-EDITIONDIGITAL MEMBERSHIPSLOTTERYMOBILEOBITSTRAFFICHYPEORLANDO BLOGSEL SENTINELSEND A NEWS TIPCONTACT USLOCALBREAKINGOBITUARIESCRIMEPOLITICSMEDICAL MARIJUANAORANGESEMINOLELAKEOSCEOLAWINTER PARKCOLLEGE PARKWEATHERRADARGET EMAIL ALERTSHURRICANE HQHURRICANE GUIDEHURRICANE BLOGORANGESEMINOLELAKEOSCEOLAVOLUSIAMARINESPORTSMAGICLIONSKNIGHTSGATORSSEMINOLESCANESVARSITYRECRUITINGSOLAR BEARSOLYMPICSGOLFNASCARFAN SHOPSCORESBUSINESSPERSONAL FINANCEFLORIDA OBAMACARE TECHNOLOGYFIND A JOBREAL ESTATEDISNEYFRUGAL FORCEBLOG-O-NOMICSENTERTAINMENTEVENTSRESTAURANTSBARS & CLUBSMUSICARTS & THEATERMOVIESMOVIE TIMESTVCELEBRITYHOROSCOPECOMICSFUNGAMESLIFESCHOOLSLOTTERYFOOD/RECIPESHOME/GARDENRELIGIONMOMS AT WORKSHOPPINGPOOL GUIDEPETSCELEBRATIONSSUMMER CAMPSHEALTHMEDICAL MARIJUANAVITAL SIGNSBREAST CANCER AWARENESSMEDICARE GUIDEOBAMACARETRAVELDESTINATION SPOTLIGHT: ST. AUGUSTINEEXPLORE FLORIDAVACATION DEALSCRUISESATTRACTIONSDAILY DISNEYBEACHBIKE TRAILSSPRINGSOPINIONEDITORIALSLETTERS TO THE EDITOROTHER VIEWSTICKED OFF!COLUMNISTSBLOGSVIDEOSTHEME PARKS VIRAL VIDEOSNEWS VIDEOSORLANDO MAGIC VIDEOSSPORTS VIDEOSENTERTAINMENT VIDEOSPOLITICAL VIDEOSCLASSIFIEDHOME DELIVERYPLACE AN ADJOBSCARSREAL ESTATEPUBLIC NOTICESSUBSCRIBEBUY PHOTOS How I Met Your MotherApril FoolsObamacare SearchAll contentBusiness listings Home→Collections→Arnold Palmer Hospital Holden Joseph Flynn: Boys quest for heart transplant inspired many Holden Flynn (Joe Flynn ) January 11, 2014|By Scott Powers, Orlando Sentinel Holden Joseph Flynn was born needing a new heart, so his parents nicknamed him The Tin Man after the character in The Wizard of Oz. He never got one, and Holden died Jan. 5 at age 26 months while awaiting a transplant at University of Florida Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville. Although Holdens heart may have been defective — he was born with just one valve and two chambers, rather than two valves and four chambers — The Tin Man touched the hearts of countless other people. And he helped raise awareness of congenital heart disease not just in Orlando but across the country. The people who have emailed, called, texted, they all remember his fight, his smile, how he always tried so hard to be more than what his condition limited him to, said his father, Joseph Trey Flynn of Orlando. We always treated Holden like he was a regular kid. He really was a regular kid; he just had issues. Those issues — medically known as an unbalanced atrioventricular canal — caused Holden to spend about a third of his life in hospitals and to undergo four heart surgeries. From the start, his prognosis was grim, and the odds of a new heart were long. Trey and Nicole Flynn learned that during her pregnancy. So they decided to make the most of their sons life. Even before Holden was born, they created Team Tin-Man to run in the annual Miracle Miles Run in Orlando, raising the most money of any team three years in a row. Born Oct. 11, 2011, Holden literally became a poster child for the Miracle Miles Run, the American Heart Association and Childrens Miracle Network. He was the subject of an Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children promotional video, The Tin Man, by Strong Films, which won several awards, including Best in Show at the 2013 Orlando Addys. He dropped the puck to start an Orlando Solar Bears game. He danced on stage for the UCF Dance Marathon. Now that he is gone, Trey and Nicole are setting up a new charitable foundation to help other families dealing with similar pediatric heart problems. Holdens life outside of hospitals was filled with all the interests of other infants and toddlers: toys, books, music, a beloved stuffed Elmo, an obsession with his pet fish and a fascination with bubbles. He was unbelievably intelligent, his father said. He would always study his toys and figure out how they worked. ... He never let his limitations best him. Thats what made him so amazing to so many people. He always seemed to get the best out of everybody. The day after Thanksgiving, he left home for the final time, going to Arnold Palmer Hospital again. After Christmas, he was transferred to Shands. Every child is special. Some, like Holden, are really special, said Dr. Kevin de la Roza, an anesthesiologist in The Heart Center at Arnold Palmer Hospital. A lot of times it comes from the parents. He comes from a couple of amazing parents. Their generosity of themselves, their openness, their willingness to share Holdens story and their grace were pretty amazing. RIP Tin Man ♥
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 16:57:10 +0000
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