BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- 5-year-old, Scarlett Grace Rodriguez, got a second chance at life with a new heart from a 6-year-old boy who lived two hours away. Scarlett was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare defect where the left side of the heart is underdeveloped. Her mother , Sugey Rodriguez said, "I just gave it up to God, and he was going to figure out how we were going to get through this stuff, but it's a scary situation because she's only three days old." At just three days old, Scarlett had her first open heart surgery; the first of five operations for the little girl born with half a heart. Sugey had a pep talk with Scarlett before her fifth surgery. "Whenever it's time to go, I need you not to cry," said Rodriguez. "Like this is big stuff. You're going to get your heart so we can go home." Rodriguez noticed her daughter had an extended stomach on July 4, 2024. The next day, Scarlett was rushed to the hospital for a failing heart where she stayed for eight months. She celebrated holidays and her birthday in the hospital. After six months and a lucky bracelet, they found a match. "I got this bracelet, a day before we got the call about her transplant," said Rodriguez. After her last surgery in February, Scarlett came back home on March 14th. "I can actually breathe great. Especially, being back home with my son because he was here the whole time while I was out there," said Rodriguez. Since March, 19 children in California have been waiting for a heart transplant, but there are only three donors that match, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. "When the time is right, and the perfect one is for your child, it will come," said Rodriguez. Now, Sugey's new mission is to find the mother who lost her son, and gave Scarlett the gift of life. "I wanted to give her a bear with a heart sound, or something just so she knows her baby is still here," said Rodriguez. ...read more read less