Charles Tillman’s infant girl, Tiana, struggled to survive while undergoing a heart transplant, Chicago Tribune reported.

On May 20, 3-month-old Tiana, the second of Tillman's two daughters, was carried by helicopter from her home to Children's Mem¬orial Hospital in Chicago, where she was hospitalized due to cardiomyopathy, an enlargement of the heart muscle which doesn’t allow pro¬p¬er beating. Her heart was more than 4 times the normal size for a newborn and beat as fast as 220 times per minute, the father said.

Tillman was living a nightmare because, in order to survive, the baby girl needed a heart transplant. "I don't think I had enough time to cry because I was trying to be strong for my wife and other kid," the Chicago Bears cornerback said.

But then, on July 18, a donor heart became available. The operation was a success, and Tiana soon returned home. The girl is currently on the way to a full recovery. "My daughter is alive and well and doing great," the father said wholeheartedly. "Smiling and kicking and cooing, all that stuff 6-month-olds are supposed to do."

While clearly being overjoyed by his daughter’s recovery, Tillman admits he still can’t believe what Tiana, who is now 6 months old, has been through. "Never in a million years [had] I thought my daughter would have to have a heart transplant," he declared. "Probably the toughest thing that I had to battle with - I knew in order for my daughter to live, another kid had to die."

Charles "Peanut" Tillman’s daughter became the first person in Illinois to benefit from the Berlin Heart, the device that saved her. An estimated 150 children in the United States have taken advantage of it, despite the fact that it hasn’t received FDA approval.