Two boys, two tense vigils, one united city
Gloucester offers harbor in storm for families awaiting transplants
Two Gloucester boys are at Children's Hospital Boston waiting for heart transplants. They suffer from severe, but different, heart ailments. They share the same blood type, O positive. They're on the same cardiology floor, being treated by the same doctor.
J.J. Nicastro, a 12-year-old Little League All-Star, was suddenly stricken last month, with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart. He is being kept alive with an artificial heart. Jackson Altieri, a 15-month-old just learning to walk, has been sick almost since birth with dilated cardiomyopathy, which causes his heart to weaken.
"They both have very sick hearts," said Dr. Leslie Smoot, the pediatric cardiologist treating the boys at Children's Hospital. "Their conditions are not in any way related . . . But they both are severely in need of heart transplants."
The boys' plight has united this hard-knock city. A campaign dubbed "Two Hearts, One Gloucester" is organizing blood drives and promoting organ donation, especially for children.
"It's incredible," said Jacqueline Hardy, a city councilor who coined the phrase "Two Hearts." "To have two boys from Gloucester needing heart transplants. . . . It's really touched people."
Prayers have been offered up, from a Little League field to the Vatican. A third blood drive on Aug. 10 at Fuller School is already booked up. On Aug. 11, a fund-raising concert is scheduled for Newell Stadium at Gloucester High School. A "Two Hearts" float in the Fishtown Horribles parade July 3 drew cheers from thousands.
"Next year," said Jamie O'Hara, president of Citizens for Public Safety, which sponsored the float, "we hope to be back in the parade -- with J.J. and Jackson on board."
The overwhelming community support has been a comfort for both families, relatives of the boys say.
"I wish we could thank everyone individually," said David Nicastro, 28, J.J.'s uncle and a family spokesman. "We live in the best city in the world."
"People are praying for him, and posting good wishes on his website," said Nicole Altieri, 32, Jackson's mother. "We definitely appreciate them."
Jackson is the only son of Nicole and her husband, Mark.
J.J. -- short for John Jordan -- is the only child of John Nicastro of Rockport and Tammy LoPiccolo Silveira of Gloucester. The parents stay round-the-clock with their sons at the hospital.
The two families face a sobering reality. For their sons to receive the hearts they need to live, other children will have to die. Their situation has focused attention on children's organ donation.
"Understandably, nobody wants to think about it," said Nicole, 32, a former social worker in Lawrence.
"But, it would be a good thing for parents to talk about. They could make a rational decision before something awful happens to their child. Maybe they could see that it could help another child . . . There are so many children in need."
In the United States today, 2,697 people are awaiting heart transplants. Of that number, 129 are in New England, including four under the age of 18, according to the New England Organ Bank in Newton.
"Pediatric patients face an interesting dilemma," said Sean Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for the nonprofit organization. "The number for kids waiting for organs is much smaller, but the number of kids that die in a manner that their organs can be used is also significantly smaller."
Jackson was diagnosed when he was about a month old, after his parents noticed he was breathing unusually fast. At Children's Hospital, he was first placed on life support but eventually got strong enough to return home. Medication helped control his condition, but about a month ago his heart weakened to the point where he needs a transplant.
Jackson is resilient. He loves cars, trucks, and airplanes. His favorite book is "Good Night Gorilla." With his toy stethoscope, he listens to the heartbeat of his baby doll. He rides a toy firetruck in the hospital corridor, waving along the way.
"He's a playful, happy little boy," Nicole Altieri said by telephone from Jackson's hospital room. "He doesn't know that he's sick at all."
J.J., who hails from one of Gloucester's largest Italian-American clans, is due to start sixth grade in the fall. He came down with flu-like symptoms late last month. He was first treated at Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester and at Beverly Hospital before being sent to Children's, where he was diagnosed with myocarditis, which is often caused by a virus. It's unclear how J.J. got sick, however.
"So far, we have not found a virus in him," Smoot said.
He's now sedated, but Smoot did speak to him briefly when he first was taken to Children's. "He was a little bit scared," she said. "He's a pretty amazing kid."
J.J. starred in football, hockey, and baseball in youth sports. This season, he was the catcher on the Pirates in Gloucester's National Little League. In what turned out to be his last game of the season, he went six-for-seven at the plate, leading the Pirates to a first-round playoff sweep, just days before he fell ill.
He was chosen for the Gloucester National All-Star team, which was recently eliminated from the District 15 tournament.
"J.J. was the leader on our team," said Lisa Olson, his Little League coach. "He was always leading the cheers from the dugout.... He just flew around the bases."
The "Two Hearts" campaign comes amid hard times for Gloucester. The city is struggling to keep schools open, staff its police and fire departments, and provide other services for its 31,000 residents.
But as it has so often before when tragedies strike, Gloucester is united in hope.
"Gloucester is a charitable place," said state Senator Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester Republican who is helping to organize donation drives.
"Whether it is for a fisherman lost at sea or a child who needs a heart, this community has always shown that it cares."
Bands are already lining up to play at the Aug. 11 fund-raising concert at Gloucester High. Money raised will be made available to each family to defray their mounting expenses, from hotel and travel costs in Boston to prescription medicine co payments.
Two recent blood drives by Children's Hospital and the American Red Cross drew hundreds of donors.
"I think the entire community has called the hospital," said Kristianna Demodena, a donor recruiter at the hospital. "We've never seen anything like this."
Donations to Children's Hospital will be banked for J.J. and Jackson. The American Red Cross does not earmark donations, though blood given in honor of either boy will increase the region's blood supply, officials said.
"If my kids were sick, I'd want someone to help," said Erica Shank, the mother of twin 4-year-old boys, after donating a pint of blood. "I think a lot of people look at this and say, 'This could be my child. I want to help.' "
Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com 