Hi Jwooders3, Thank you for you kind words and I like connect for that reason we all help each other. So sorry to hear you lost your Husband to cancer. What kind of professor are you? I myself just recently decided to finish my degree. I love the Bible and so figured Biblical studies was a good choice. I retired from being a communication Technician, which I loved dearly, but with the transplant that was the one thing I had to give up.
Let me start with why I needed a Heart in the first place. I Got my first pacemaker in 2008 due to an enlarged heart from a Flu virus that caused fluid to build up around my heart and lungs. With the added pressure to the heart, it started to enlarge. Well the heart is one muscle that has problems like arrythmias that can developed when they get enlarged. In my case it developed into Ventricular Tachycardia where the lower part of the heart does not beat correctly and can cause really bad arrythmias. So the pacemaker was there to either pace me back into a good rhythm or if necessary apply a difibulartor shock to get it pumping again. Typically, during an episode my heart was beating so fast that blood was not flowing so unlike afib with VT minutes are critical. Sorry for the long explanation but i wanted to give a bit of background as to why I needed a transplant.
Well after about 10 years thru a few ablations and quite a few shocks when the pacing was unsuccessful my problems became untreatable and my doctor figured transplant may be something to consider. So in Nov 2017 he suggested an evaluation by Mayo Clinic, to have that completed, just in case we had to go that route. Well as it worked out the timing was perfect. By mid-December I was in the Hospital until the Lord took me home or got me a new heart. Here is where the complications come in.
The drug that was keeping me going was an IV type of Amiodarone, the most used drug for my problem but has many side affects particularly after long term use (10 years for me). By this time I was on a pretty high dose and it damaged my thyroid and those had to be removed. And also due to the high dose while on the IV I became toxic to the drug which set in motion the increased need for a heart. On Dec 31st i had a bad reaction to the medication and had to be taken off of it. Well I guess the Good Lord wanted me down here for a while and within 5 days we had a potential donor. That was 4 January 2018. Now an interesting side note is the surgeon had a rule that the final decision was when he put his eyes on the donor heart. By that time i was already on the table and prepped. They would start the process of cutting me open by his team the moment he called and gave the go ahead. Then he would fly back or drive I don't know how far away it was. Mayo even has access to a lear jet if necessary, The time out of a body is critical. So I was the age of 58 when I got my transplant. Jan 5th 2018 so im post 5.5 years now and doing great. The only other problems I did have was as a prior smoker (quit in 2011) i had a mild case of copd and emphysema. But its not bad enough to even be on medication for them. So no other problems to speak of, at 63 now I trying to loose a bit of weight. I want to get 20 pounds off. I love to hike, I walk daily between 3-4 miles and playing golf. Do volunteer work at my church and enjoy my family. Spend time with my wife, children & grandchildren.