Sweet video shows student's warm welcome back to school after heart transplant
"He was ecstatic."
A student received a warm welcome from teachers and friends this month after he returned to school since receiving a heart transplant.
In the video, Tyler Krueger, 24, can be seen running toward his peers with excitement. He was greeted with high fives, hugs and applause, before grabbing his backpack and proudly entering the building.
Tyler attends Pine Tree Center, a special education facility, in Lake Orion, Michigan. Lake Orion Community Schools shared footage on its Facebook page where it garnered 55,000 views.
"He was ecstatic," mom Shelly Krueger told "Good Morning America" of Tyler's first day back. "Every time we'd go to the doctor, the cardiologist would ask, 'Any questions?' Tyler would say, 'My class.' He couldn't wait to go back to school."
In 2015, Tyler had experienced heart, kidney and liver failure. He was hospitalized for 68 days and used a left ventricular assist device for cardiac circulation for nearly three years.
Tyler's parents hoped for a transplant but there were some hurdles.
"His immune system was lower just from having Down syndrome and doctors were nervous that the risk of cancer [was] higher than the average transplant person," Shelly Krueger said.
But on Sept. 6, 2018, Tyler finally received the transplant and recovered. April 8 was his first day back at school.
"Tyler's the type of person -- he will find a way into your heart," dad Buster Krueger told "GMA." "What they do for him at the school, it really is amazing."
When asked how it felt to be back in school Tyler told "GMA" it made him feel "happy."
"We're just so proud that Tyler is doing so well and is able to go to school like all of his friends," said Mark Snyder, director of communications and marketing at Lake Orion Community Schools.
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