On January 4, 1998 in Los Angeles my father Bob Swanson had his life saved with a heart transplant – he had a virus called cardio myopathy and had been suffering for 3 years, losing weight, strength and mobility- he needed a heart. Transplants in general are a difficult thing to even process, first when you die you have to be brain dead to even become an organ donor, secondly blood and tissue type must match the recipients, in other words you cannot just die and be a donor you must be brain-dead and your body still functioning. Dad being 68 was not a good candidate in the state of Florida, where he lived, he was considered too old!
Now can someone PLEASE tell me WHO IN FLORIDA is NOT OVER 65?
So out to California he came and the doctors realizing what great health he was in from not smoking or drinking he was the perfect candidate for a transplant and if he went back to Florida he would die.
UCLA Hospital put him in what the nurses called the lucky room and lucky it was after 28 days and over New Years weekend he received a heart from a 21 year old woman.
This last weekend the donor family, after 15 years wanted to meet my dad to see where their daughters heart landed!
Dad came out to LA for his annual check up and was so excited of this news- we jumped on a plane and went to ELKO, NEVADA to meet this wonderful family, as nerve racking as something so personal is we were nervous, scared, sad, ecstatic and so on. Imagine meeting the family of ones lost daughter to ones life saved because of this awesome family. The jitters and nerves subsided after moments of hellos, hugs and how do you do’s it was surly meant to be. Immediately we fell in love with the family and felt as if we knew them our whole lives, both dad and I thought and are still talking about how lucky, blessed and happy that they reached out to us not only that but with big open arms both heartfelt and filled with so much LOVE! All of our lives changed after this incident and tears roll down my check thinking how this turn of events in life changed all of us and the lives we have today!
Thank you God thank you family … WE LOVE YOU ALL!!! I don’t even know how to express the feelings I carry inside of me, thank you could never do the proper justice it just is too good!
Thirdly ‘WE NEED MORE DONORS’ 17 people die everyday for lack of organs, FIVE people can be saved with ONE donor so think and think BIG and register with you local DMV to change the lives of others and fill our world with love as one
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