Man With “No Pulse” Finally Gets A New Heart
Posted November 15, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
We first told you about him last June, when he was put on a special mechanical heart that kept blood coursing through his system, without benefit of a pump. That left him in the odd position of not having any pulse.
But now Harry is literally a new man – he received a heart transplant three weeks ago that has returned him to the land of the living.
How does he feel now? “Excellent,” he smiles. “Every day I walk. I’m not full of energy yet but that will come over time.”
Harry lived long enough to get that new heart thanks to the special device implanted in his chest that kept him alive for four months and healthy enough to survive the risky operation.
“The condition that he was in when he first presented to us in the end of May, early June, it was quite clear to us that he wasn’t going to survive long enough for a suitable heart to become available,” explains Toronto General Hospital surgeon Dr. Vivek Rao.
Harry admits he can’t stop thinking about the family who generously made the decision to give him back to his family by donating the heart of a loved one.
“It’s incredible that somebody would take and donate their organs so someone like me could live again and enjoy life,” he marvels.
He urges everyone to sign their organ donor card to give future Harrys a second chance to put their finger back on the pulse of their lives. Even if it means going without one to get there.
