CAPE BOY MOVES TO TOP OF TRANSPLANT LIST

Kevin Lossing received a toy Tin Man as he moved to the top of the list of children awaiting heart transplants at Children's Hospital in St. Louis.

The next heart available in his age group will go to 13-year-old Kevin, the son of Gary and Yvonne Lossing of Cape Girardeau.

"That means it can be any time now," said Yvonne Lossing, Kevin's mother. "We are so ready to be home."

Lossing has been at Children's Hospital for 86 days awaiting a transplant.

Kevin is ready to pass the toy Tin Man to the next child on the list, when he leaves the hospital with a new heart.

The toy Tin Man, representing the Wizard of Oz' Tin Man who wanted a heart, has been through the hands of 23 other children awaiting heart transplants.

Lossing received the toy from Jonathon McFall, who lived 81 days on a heart machine and got his heart transplant Tuesday.

The 15-year-old Decatur, Ill., boy was listed in serious but stable condition after the eight-hour transplant surgery.

Lossing continues to wait for a donor heart.

"We are so ready to come home," Kevin's mother said. She added that Kevin is feeling better after a long bout with nausea. "He's really doing good."

After a transplant, Lossing will spend a week in the hospital, and another week in St. Louis before returning home.

"We want to thank everyone for their prayers, their cards and calls," she said.

Students at L.J. Schultz Middle School, where Kevin was a student before being admitted to the hospital, performed "The Wizard of Oz" this spring and dedicated the play to Kevin.

One of the performances was held on Kevin's 13th birthday, and students from the school called to sing "Happy Birthday." They also sent Kevin a video tape of the performance. He watches it often and hopes to be back in school this fall.

The Cape Girardeau family learned that Kevin had Becker's muscular dystrophy when he was 6. They decided not to tell him to give him a chance to live as normal a life as possible. But the heart is a muscle, and 10 months ago the disease hit Kevin's heart.