Noah stands at the end of the Florida Orchestra performance and follows the other kids up to the podium.

The 10-year-old’s mother, Cherish, and others who know him are stunned because he rarely ventures away from Mom. But here is the lifetime Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital heart patient, who had a transplant in 2012, taking the baton from the conductor and leading the orchestra.

“He’s never left me before,” says Cherish, who has attended each of the three orchestra performances at the hospital with Noah. “I was so nervous and excited for him. It was the first time he’s ever done anything like that on his own. He loved it.

“It was like he finally got his wings.”