5-year-old welcomed home after 975 days in hospital
By Erin Cox
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Utah (KSL, KSL TV) — After nearly three years in the hospital, one community decided to surprise a 5-year-old and her family.
The Barton’s Saratoga Springs neighborhood has supported them from the beginning. From prayers and rides to the hospital to raising more than three grand to send the Burton’s daughter to Texas for a donor heart — now they wanted to give her a grand welcome home.
Shalise Swenson, who helped plan the surprise, gathered pink and purple to line the streets for the Barton’s daughter, Sienna, who loves Taylor Swift and Disney.
“She’s spice and big heart,” Swenson said.
A big heart that’s been through a lot. Sienna was born with half a heart. She had surgery at six days old, six months old and was supposed to go in again at three years old.
“It’s a very discouraging process,” said Francesca Barton, Sienna’s mom.
In January 2023, Sienna went into heart failure and was hooked up to a mechanical heart while she waited for a new one.
“Twenty eight months later, we were still there waiting,” Barton said.
That’s when the Barton’s found a hospital in Texas that would have a greater chance of finding a donor with the right heart size for Sienna.
They flew to Texas in May 2025, and Sienna had a donor by June.
“Our daughter is only alive today because another family chose donation,” said Fano Barton, Sienna’s Dad.
Sienna needed to stay at least 90 days following her heart transplant. And on day 975 of the family’s journey, Sienna returned home to Saratoga Springs.
“She was two years old when she went into the hospital and now, she’s five,” Fano said.
Sienna waved her hands and threw out candy to neighbors as their car paraded through the streets.
“Our community has been behind us these past three years,” Barton said. “We’re just so grateful to them.”
After all this time, Sienna’s big heart, still beats.
“Our hearts are so full,” Barton said.
There’s a lot of healing and learning left for Sienna.
The Barton’s will go to Texas every six weeks for checkup appointments. The family said Sienna has physical therapy, feeding therapy and on top of that, they just want to catch up on being all together as a family after nearly three years of living in different places.
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