ST. LOUIS — Doctors at St. Louis Children’s Hospital in St. Louis put a teen on life support on Thursday morning. 

The story of Landon Daesch, 17, has impacted thousands of people as he grapples with health challenges. His family shares his faith on social media, but now he needs the public’s help. 

Daesch arrived at the hospital for a heart transplant Tuesday night. After the transplant, the heart was beating at 70 beats per minute.

“All praise and glory to Jesus, the Giver of Life!” Krista Mercille said about her son’s recovery in a social media post.

Within hours, she was sharing an unexpected update: He was still on life support.

Mercille told KSDK in February her son needed a new heart. For the past eight months, his family has waited in and out of hospitals to see healing in his heart, hoping to avoid a transplant.

Though he had some healing in his heart, doctors determined it was not substantial enough to bypass the transplant. So, Landon got on the transplant list Monday and less than 48 hours later, he was at the hospital getting his new heart.

“We don’t know why the heart he got is not functioning the way it should be,” Mercille said. “It’s a scary situation right now.”

Savannah Nair, a family friend, drove nine hours to celebrate his new heart, but an hour before they arrived, she got the update, and realized she was coming for a much different reason.

“What if it was one of mine ?” Nair said. “I wouldn’t even know how to walk what they (Landon’s parent) are walking through right now. Seeing Landon where he is right now, I see my kid’s face. It’s that feeling that you want to wake up from this nightmare.” 

Nair has witnessed her friend, Mercille, laugh about something small and then suddenly change as the reality hits her again. 

“As a mom, it’s traumatizing to see him like that again,” Mercille said.

Landon’s journey does not come without financial hardship for his family. Learn more about their financial needs here.

Not only does Landon have a room full of family and friends waiting for him to miraculously heal, but he also has an online community of strangers that have shared his journey for months. They are praying for her son as she gives them updates. 

Mercille said in a post to supporters, “My momma heart is shattered. My spirit doesn’t feel at peace. And I’m going to be honest… I am not okay, but I’m still trusting the Lord.”

Before the surgery, she said Landon was praising God for a new heart and a new life. 

“God is going to get me through this,” Mercille recalled her son saying.  

But then he had a change of thought and was scared before he went under, Mercille said, sobbing.

Still, Landon has changed the world around him with his story. He has inspired family and strangers. 

Thousands are following Mercille on Facebook to get updates about Landon.   

“Landon’s story is exploding,” Nair said. “In a way that a lot of people are now praying. A lot of people are now inspired because of everything they are enduring right now. … It’s a pretty big story.”

Relying on their faith, again, the family has requested prayer for Landon.