Theodore is waiting on a heart, finds inspiration in a fishing store

CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. (WBTV) - Theodore Tyler is a 7-year-old who was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

The Cabarrus County boy has had three open heart surgeries and is waiting at Levine Children’s for his fourth.

On Aug. 1, the day before going to the hospital to wait for his new heart, Theodore was out with his family on a final outing. His parents took him to the Taramac in Salisbury but first stopped at the nearby store to grab snacks and stuff for the tackle box.

Inside that store, Theodore started meeting people. He kept going in and out to ask his parents if it was okay to pick out specific items and in the course of his trips in and out, he talked with tons of customers and employees.

Everyone heard him explain about his upcoming surgery, and how he needed a new heart. All customers, his mom Tiphany said, told him over and over what a “brave little guy he is.”

“Kindness goes a long way as you never know what someone is going through in life,” Tiphany said. “The Taramac store staff and customers were great with my Theodore. Their kindness was genuine. One gentleman, Perry, who worked there, was especially kind. We stopped back by in the store after we were done fishing and when Theodore walked in, Perry immediately wanted to know if he had caught anything. We hadn’t, but Perry kept telling him how he would ‘next time.’ Everyone’s encouragement was great.”

The Tylers are from Harrisburg but have spent every day since that fishing trip inside the hospital waiting for a donor. Soon after they arrived at the hospital on Aug. 2, Tiphany was forwarded a Facebook post. It was making the rounds and being shared and had been written by Perry. He’d written about his interactions with Theodore the night before, after work, and was telling the world about this inspiring little kid.

”Complete strangers didn’t know him or us, but gave him such hope,” Tiphany says. “People can be really good, and those send-offs of ‘Good luck!’ are still in our head today. My husband Troy and I are very grateful for kindness.”

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