Jarales boy in need of second heart transplant

A Jarales family is sitting and waiting in a Colorado hospital, hoping for a second chance for their son.

Hunter Rael, 8, is recovering from a November 2025 heart transplant at the Colorado Children’s Hospital in Denver. While he is going through cardiac rehabilitation and physical therapy, he’s waiting for the unthinkable — a second heart transplant.

In November 2022, Hunter was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease, which causes inflammation of the arteries to the heart.

The disease is typically marked by a fever of more than 102.2 degrees for five days or longer, along with other symptoms, such as a rash and enlarged lymph nodes in the neck. Only 5 years old at the time, Hunter had a persistent fever for more than a week. With no answers, his regular doctor referred the family to Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, where he was diagnosed.

According to the Mayo Clinic website, the exact cause of Kawasaki is unknown but treatment within 10 days of onset is key to reducing the chances of lasting damage to the arteries that supply blood to the heart.

For the last three years, Hunter and his mother, Anna Moya, have been making regular trips to the Denver hospital so specialists could monitor his condition because there aren’t doctors available in New Mexico. His diagnosis meant Hunter had to be extremely careful and avoid physical exertion to avoid triggering a cardiac event.

After eliminating other options, in July 2025 his doctors said Hunter’s best chance for survival was a heart transplant.

That’s when the first wait began. Then the call came on Nov. 18, 2025. There was a heart available. Anna and Hunter got on a plane for Denver and the next day, Hunter went in for surgery.

“It started out good,” Anna said, “but then he coded (his heart stopped beating) for 15 minutes. They brought him back and he was stable. Then he was bleeding and had to go back into surgery.”

Once the bleeding was under control, he was placed on ECMO — extracorporeal membrane oxygenation — which pumps blood outside of the body to a heart-lung machine, which allows them to rest and heal.

“He was also on dialysis for a while. His kidneys took a hit during all this,” his mother said. “Once he was off those, he went back to physical therapy, cardiac therapy, working on walking and eating. Just trying to get as healthy as he can.”

With Hunter stable, doctors began testing to see how his new heart was doing, Anna said. A pressure test seemed to indicate things were progressing well, but an MRI showed significant scar tissue around his new heart.

“That won’t get better,” Anna said. “They feel this is worse than his original heart.”

On Jan. 5, 2026, Hunter was put back on the heart transplant list, and the waiting continues.

He is at the top of the list, Anna said, and until a new heart is available the two of them will be staying in the hospital.

“He can’t leave the hospital. We can’t leave this floor without a nurse. They pretty much watch him 24 hours a day,” she said. “We are working on getting him healthy so he can get another heart transplant. This is not his forever heart.”

When Hunter isn’t working on his rehab, he likes to color, collect Pokemon cards and has been “big into LEGOs lately,” his mother said, as well as stuffed animals. If anyone would like to send Hunter a gift via the Colorado Kawasaki Foundation, Anna said it would be appreciated.

There is also a GoFundMe campaign to help the family.

“We are going to be here for a really long time. Probably most of the year,” Anna said.

With Hunter in the hospital, Anna isn’t working and his father, Pat, is traveling back and forth between Colorado and New Mexico. Most nights, Anna stays at the hospital with Hunter since he doesn’t like to be alone, she said, but she does have a hotel room nearby that insurance partially pays for.

“I go over there during the day to shower and do laundry,” she said. “We have family come as much as possible, and (Hunter’s) brother, they let him come and spend the night. They had a sleep over. They miss each other.”

The focus is getting Hunter as healthy as they can in preparation for a second transplant, Anna said, but when that will happen is a complete unknown.

“We’re going to be here a lot longer than we expected. Maybe even through this summer. It just depends on when we get an offer for a heart,” she said. “But we’re doing OK. This is what we’re here for, so let’s get this show on the road so we can go home.”

To donate to Hunter’s GoFundMe account, visit gofundme.com and search for “Donate for Hunter’s Heart Transplant.”

To keep up with Hunter’s progress, join the public Facebook group “Hunters Heart Transplant Journey.”

Get-well cards, gift cards and gifts for Hunter can be sent to Kawasaki Kids Foundation, Attn: Hunter, 1298 Main St., Unit A 4221, Windsor, Colo., 80550.