An 11-month-old baby boy in South Florida is heading home following a successful heart transplant.

Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, in Hollywood, had been little Kaiden's home for most of his life.

Kaiden had been waiting for a new heart since he was 3 months old, when he was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy.

"You think you have a healthy son, there is nothing wrong with him, and you're told by doctors who grab your hand and say, 'We will do everything we can, but we can't guarantee his life,'" said Kaiden's mother.

"It is really the best Christmas present all of us could get," said Nurse Chris Mashburn, with Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital. "It really is. We love our kids."

Though he's out of the hospital, young Kaiden will need to take anti-rejection medication for the rest of his life.