Maxine the Mighty Heart Warrior Is ‘All Go and No Quit’

PALOS HEIGHTS, IL -- When Randy and Melissa Zolk were told that the arteries in their unborn daughter’s heart were transposed, the doctor said he was legally bound to advise the Palos Heights couple of their option to terminate the pregnancy.

“My first response was absolutely not,” Melissa Zolk said. “I don’t judge anyone making the opposite decision that we did. It’s everyone’s personal choice but that’s not something we ever thought of. Our immediate response was no. Just tell us what our journey is going to look like. We’re going to give her the life she deserves.”

Baby Maxine was born on Oct. 1, 2015 at Advocate Christ Medical Center. When she was a day old, she underwent catheter surgery, and a month later, Maxine had a shunt put in her heart until she was grew big enough to undergo open heart surgery.

Transposition of the great arteries is a rare heart defect present at birth that changes the way the blood flows through the body, leaving a shortage of oxygen in blood flowing from the heart to the rest of the body. Without oxygen-rich blood, a child faces serious complications or even death. In addition to her transposed arteries, which her mother describes as “flip-flopped,” Maxine was born with other heart defects as well.

After surgery to repair her heart, a routine echocardiogram in the fall seemed to indicate that everything was going well until December, when Maxine wasn’t quite herself. Her surgeons at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn discovered that the baby had an enlargement of the heart completely unrelated to her other issues.

Randy and Melissa, both special education teachers at Stagg High School, made the agonizing decision to place their daughter on the waiting list for a heart transplant. The summer’s heart repairs, however, still look great, her mother says.

“Before we were on the transplant route I literally had no idea what caring for a child on the transplant list involved,” Melissa said. “There are so many appointments and medications that she’ll be on for the rest of her life. She’ll need to have another transplant again in her life, maybe more than once.”

Maxine has an older sister by ten months, Lucy. Melissa is also expecting the couple’s third child. She and her husband are holding their breath for the 20-week in vitro examination, the same point in pregnancy when they discovered their daughter's flip-flopped heart.

“Maxine is a tough girl,” her mother says. “She’s feisty and sassy and has a huge personality. She’s truly a fighter … She keeps on truckin’. My husband says she’s all go and no quit.”

On parental leave from Stagg, Melissa stays at Ronald McDonald House near Lurie Children’s Hospital, caring for Maxine during the days and evenings as they wait for a new heart. Randy stays home during the week, going to work and caring for Lucy. It’s hard to be apart when the family should all be together.

“We’re thankful that our work gives us the option of my doing this,” Melissa said. “My husband is on intermittently. When Maxine gets transplanted he’ll be able to take as many days off as he needs.”

So far, Maxine’s medical costs are over a half million dollars. The baby’s medications alone run $1,200 a month. Melissa says they have no idea how insurance will cover Maxine’s medical costs. They needed their insurance carrier’s approval to place their daughter on the heart transplant list. There is also the inevitable income loss when one parent stops working to care for a chronically ill child.

“Maxine lives at the hospital. She’s at the highest level on the list that she can possibly be,” her mother said. “She’s our miracle. This is a road I wouldn’t wish on anybody but I would do it a million times over for her. She’s such a joy and deserves to live a long and fulfilling life like any child even though she has struggles.”

This Saturday and Sunday, March 18 and March 19, the Stagg High School Music Boosters will be holding a special fundraiser for Baby Maxine Zolk at their annual Spring Craft Fair. Attendees are asked to consider making a cash donation. Gift cards for grocery stores, drug stores, restaurants, baby stores or your preferred store will greatly assist the Zolk family. There will also be a split-the-pot raffle.

“Stagg High School is a family. Our staff, students, parents and community always step up to take care of each other,” principal Eric Olsen said. “Melissa and Randy have touched the lives of so many in our community through their work both in and out of the classroom, and now the community has stepped up to support Maxine and the Zolk Family. Family takes care of family.”

Melissa Zolk says the average waiting time for a new heart is approximately five months. The wait is approaching the halfway mark. She knows that through another family’s great loss, will be her family’s great gain.

"I don’t care if we have to live in a box as long as we’re together and Maxine is alive,” Melissa says. “I don’t care if we’re in debt the rest of our lives. I’ll pay a penny a day for the rest of my life.”

A GoFund Me campaign has been set up to help keep the Zolk family going as they wait for a new heart for Maxine. For more information or to make a donation, visit "Maxine the Mighty Heart Warrior."You can also keep up with the latest news on Maxine's heart journey on Facebook.

COVER PHOTO: Maxine (in crib), big sister, Lucy, and her parents, Randy and Melissa Zolk. | Family photo