Baby’s Plight Shows Donor Need

Jon Nagel had a change of heart because his son is in need of one. Nagel’s son, Matthew, was born last week with Ebstein’s disease, a rare heart disorder. The infant is being kept alive by a machine that supplies oxygen while he awaits a heart.

“We are going to need a miracle,” said Nagel, 32, a steel salesman. “We talk to him, kiss him and have put pictures of his sisters on the wall but he hasn’t opened his eyes yet.”

Since Matthew’s birth, Jon and Ruth Nagel and their two young daughters, Danielle and Delaney, have been keeping a vigil at Children’s Hospital of Orange County. In those hours, the Cypress family has come to look at organ donation in a new way.

“We never paid much attention to organ donation,” Nagel said. “But when something like this happens to you, it sure changes your mind. It’s important for saving lives.”

Shelly Morris, a family friend, said Matthew’s condition has raised her awareness about donor programs, especially since she and her husband have two children.

“Matthew has been an eye-opening experience for me,” said Morris, who is about to renew her driver’s license and plans on signing its donor card.

The Nagels’ plight also touched parents at Kids Korner, a Cypress preschool Danielle attends. The parents set up a fund-raiser today at the Carl’s Jr. restaurant, 5930 Cerritos Ave., in Cypress.

Doctors have told the Nagels their son has a slim chance of living. Medical technology can keep him alive only for about two weeks, and finding a matching newborn heart is difficult. Even if Matthew receives a heart in time, Nagel said his son faces many hurdles.

If the worst happens, the family will donate his organs. “If Matthew can help someone else, that would be good,” Nagel said. “The message I want to give is that organ donation is important.”

To learn more about organ donations, call the Orange County office of the Southern California Organ Procurement Center at (714) 480-1040.