Omaha volleyball star visits 2-year-old namesake awaiting heart transplant

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – A 2-year-old girl waiting for a heart transplant after being diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy got to meet her volleyball-playing namesake.

At Children’s Nebraska, Merritt Squire is being treated for her condition, which causes the heart’s main pump chamber to be enlarged and weakened.

Named after former Nebraska volleyball and current Omaha Supernovas player Merritt Beason, when she heard of little Merritt, big Merritt wanted to meet her.

“The visit became a moment of pure joy for the family. “These are the things that really ground you, and almost humble you in a way, to remember that little girls and kids are out here fighting for their lives every single day,” Beason said.

“To have a little girl sharing the same name as you, who is so strong and fighting every single day, is just something you can’t put into words,’” per the post on Children’s Nebraska’s website.

Merritt has received a Berlin Heart, a mechanical pump to help circulate blood, while she waits for a heart donor.

“We support not only the patient but also the family as best as we possibly can through that process,” said Dr. Jason Cole, medical director of the Advanced Pediatric Heart Failure & Transplant program. “Opportunities like these give our families a chance to take a step back, take a breath and to enjoy the moments while they’re here.”

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