Miracle machine saving this life

AUSTIN (KXAN) - This Christmas will have even more meaning to a young family from San Angelo.

The father, whom doctors gave little chance for survival a few short months ago, is alive today because of a team of doctors from Seton Medical Center , their willingness to travel long distance and a miracle machine.

"Steady? Good. Take a deep breath. Let's go!" said his therapist as Chad Smith was working to walk.

Every slow step for Smith is a huge accomplishment. Three years ago he had a heart transplant and three months ago, the 30-year-old took a turn for the worse.

"He was too weak to turn over and sit at the side of the bed," said Dr. Michael Mueller. "So the fact that now he is taking 10 to 12 steps is tremendous progress."

Smith's heart transplant surgeon from Seton jumped on a helicopter with other specialists and a very special piece of equipment called an ECMO machine -- short for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

For the first time, the team flew more than 200 miles across the state to pick up Smith in San Angelo where he lives, and brought him to Austin, along with the ECMO machine that was keeping his heart and lungs working.

"When we first got here to Austin his cardiologist told us he had a 20 percent survival rate," said Amber Smith, Chad's wife. "They just didn't know if he was going to pull out of it or not."

Chad Smith stayed on the ECMO machine at Seton Medical Center for another three weeks until his heart and lungs were able to work better on their own.

"To know they were taking care of me every step of the way when we were flying or on the road or in the hospital. It's just good to know that people are there," he said.

"If they hadn't come and gotten him -- if they hadn't had that machine, we wouldn't be sitting here talking. It's huge!" Amber Smith said.

Now each step gets him one step closer to his goal.

I'm standing up and taking a few steps, but I want to walk at home and possibly walk out of here," Chad Smith said.

His doctors hope he'll be walking out of Seton and going home in time for Christmas.

"I don't care where we are for Christmas," Amber Smith said. "I have my Christmas gift. He's here, and I get to celebrate Christmas with him."

Chad Smith took his first steps in three months just this week, and he said he looks forward to the simple things back home -- spending time with his 8-year-old son and his dogs.

The Seton ECMO program has been around for a little more than a year, but this is the first time the team has traveled such a long distance to save a life.