A brave little cardiac patient has a million questions after finding out he's getting a new heart, in an emotional video that's gone viral on Facebook.

The video shows Ari Schultz, 5, reacting to news from his parents that the Boston Children's Hospital has found him a new heart, after 211 days on their waiting list. Ari, who has already had three open-heart surgeries to address his congestive heart failure, is shown reacting to the news in the hallway at the hospital, where he had been practicing his baseball swing with a toy bat.

His parents, Mike and Erica, are the ones who deliver the good news, along with the promise that he can attend a Boston Red Sox game after the surgery.

"So, I was talking to the doctors a few minutes ago," Ari's dad, Mike, says in the video.

"What?" Ari interjects.

"…And you know how they've been looking for a heart for a long time? I think they found one."

"They found one?" Ari asks, voice hoarse with excitement. A smile quickly spreads across his face, and he raises the bat and takes a good swing.

"What do you think?" his dad asks.

"Good!" he says. "So I can go home tomorrow?"

The little slugger is mostly concerned with how soon he can get out of the hospital, how he can avoid getting an IV, where they'll put the heart and whether he'll still be able to play baseball afterward.

"Are they going to find a good spot to put it?" he asks. "My old heart was right there," he says, pointing to his chest. "The new one is going to go a little to the left or right."

The boy experiences some confusion when his mother, Erica, tells him he'll be under anaesthesia for the surgery, so "you don't feel anything and you don't remember anything."

"It means I don't remember when we play baseball anymore?" he says.

His parents assure him that's not the case.

 

211 days ago Ari was officially listed for a heart transplant. Today the counting stops. If praying is what you do, now is the time, for Ari, and for Ari's donor and family. We've been thinking about them, their sacrifice, their sorrow, and their immense kindness non stop. And will every day for the rest of our lives. Now, for Ari, it's go time.

Posted by Ari "Danger" Schultz on Friday, 3 March 2017

The video has been viewed more than 1.3 million times since March 3.

In a Facebook post from March 5, Mike Schultz said the surgery was a success and that Ari was doing well. He thanked those who donated blood and asked for more to sign up, as the surgery requires a large volume of extra blood to be a success.

"We're about 36 hours out from Ari's new heart beginning to beat in his chest," Schultz wrote. "He has extra risk factors that will make the transplant path challenging. However, so far so good." 

Schultz expects Ari to remain sedated for approximately a week.

He added that he's excited to share highlights of the Boston Celtics game with Ari when he wakes up, because the boy had to miss watching the game for his heart surgery. "He got his first sedation and said, 'Celtics. CELTICS. CELTICSSSSS!' And was out!" Schultz said.

"I'm psyched to show him the highlights."