Randy Marlow, 1ST MAN LIVER HEART!!
Donation protected
Randy K. Marlow was admitted to the Saint Mary's Hospital Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota on May 28th 2014 for a Heart and Liver Transplant. After more than a year and a half of trips to the Mayo Clinic the team gave him the goahead to be on a 1A transplant classification list. This means that he is on a special medication waiting for a transplant in the hospital without leaving until a donor is received. Randy is very happy that Mayo is giving him a chance with a transplant as he has been on disability since Sept. 2013 with his health declining.
Randy was born with a Atrila Septal Defect (ASD). This defect was found at age 18 when he applied for the Army. The Army told him to see a Cardiologist and at that time he had his first open heart surgery in 1986 to repair his heart.
Today there is a move towards early detection in children for if there would have been better screening in his early childhood he could have been spared a continued life long stuggle of health problems.
More surgeries continued in 1998 in Denver Co. with a repair to the past 1986 surgery and the use of a Gortex patch over the ASD, also known as a hole in your heart. Then again in 2002 in Grand Junction Co. he needed open heart for a Mitral Valve repair and Tricuspid repair. During this surgery he almost lost his leg to compartment syndrome due to poor surgery. Then again his 4th open heart surgery in 2009 at the University of Colorado Hospital. The doctors needed to replace the Mitral valve and Tricuspid valve along with a Cox Maze procedure and added a Pacemaker. In 2012 the University of Colorado said they could not fix his heart anymore and he would need a heart transplant. So here he is today 2014 at the Saint Mary's Hospital Mayo in Rochester MN. Today he now has a bad liver from all the years with a bad heart and needs a transplant for both organs from one donor.
Randy is the son of Karen and Tom Keefe originally from Bombay NY. He has always been a hard worker from a young age and his entire life. He helped his family in Upstate New York on a dairy farm. He was a lumber jack at 13 years old and learned how to use a chainsaw. He was active in school and the President of FFA "Future Farmers of America" the class of 1986 at Salmon River Central School in Fort Covington, NY. He was always looking for a way to raise money and did so by making apple cider in the Fall along with tapping trees for sap to make syrup. He sold firewood that he cut down, worked at the auction barn carring calves and worked hard on a vegetable farm. He played hard too. He loved to play Hockey, ride dirt bikes and snowmobile. Many activities all with a heart defect that was unknown. He was never sick as a child and had perfect attendance. He was voted Class Clown in High School. He was full of life, spirit and still is in his 46 year young mind with a bad heart and liver.
Randy continued to move on with his life after his first surgery. He moved with friends to Colorado where he fell in love with the mountains and weather. In Denver he entered the school of DIT "Denver Institute of Technology" for HVAC, heating and air. This career took him from Denver to Grand Junction to Vail, Aspen and Fort Collins. He took great interest and pride in his work and all the customers he served for 20 years.
His new goal by the grace of God is to receive a gift from a donor as we pray for the donors family and God's hand in it.
Organ Donors = Life. We encourage everyone to give life a be an organ donor. Facts are that one donor can save up to 8 lives and enhance the lives of 40 others. More than 80,000 men, women, children are waiting for a life saving transplant. Every 13 minutes a new name is added to the transplant waiting list.
Thank you all for your care, prayer and support as Randy faces the fight of his life. He continues to strive to emprove his strength with daily exercise and is up to 2 1/2 miles on his pedometer. He is strong willed and a fighter and will continue to do so.
As many can imagine the financial burden has taken its toll over the years. Randy had to stop working in September of 2013 because he needed to be on oxygen full time and no longer had his strength. After this he continued to be hospitalized in October at the Mayo for several weeks and then again New Years Day 2014 a trip to the emergency room in Colorado where he was hospitalized for weeks again. Now he is in good hands with daily monitoring in the Mayo hospital trying to stay positive for the future. Thank you to all for any support that will go towards his medical bills and care in recovery when ever that comes.
Randy was born with a Atrila Septal Defect (ASD). This defect was found at age 18 when he applied for the Army. The Army told him to see a Cardiologist and at that time he had his first open heart surgery in 1986 to repair his heart.
Today there is a move towards early detection in children for if there would have been better screening in his early childhood he could have been spared a continued life long stuggle of health problems.
More surgeries continued in 1998 in Denver Co. with a repair to the past 1986 surgery and the use of a Gortex patch over the ASD, also known as a hole in your heart. Then again in 2002 in Grand Junction Co. he needed open heart for a Mitral Valve repair and Tricuspid repair. During this surgery he almost lost his leg to compartment syndrome due to poor surgery. Then again his 4th open heart surgery in 2009 at the University of Colorado Hospital. The doctors needed to replace the Mitral valve and Tricuspid valve along with a Cox Maze procedure and added a Pacemaker. In 2012 the University of Colorado said they could not fix his heart anymore and he would need a heart transplant. So here he is today 2014 at the Saint Mary's Hospital Mayo in Rochester MN. Today he now has a bad liver from all the years with a bad heart and needs a transplant for both organs from one donor.
Randy is the son of Karen and Tom Keefe originally from Bombay NY. He has always been a hard worker from a young age and his entire life. He helped his family in Upstate New York on a dairy farm. He was a lumber jack at 13 years old and learned how to use a chainsaw. He was active in school and the President of FFA "Future Farmers of America" the class of 1986 at Salmon River Central School in Fort Covington, NY. He was always looking for a way to raise money and did so by making apple cider in the Fall along with tapping trees for sap to make syrup. He sold firewood that he cut down, worked at the auction barn carring calves and worked hard on a vegetable farm. He played hard too. He loved to play Hockey, ride dirt bikes and snowmobile. Many activities all with a heart defect that was unknown. He was never sick as a child and had perfect attendance. He was voted Class Clown in High School. He was full of life, spirit and still is in his 46 year young mind with a bad heart and liver.
Randy continued to move on with his life after his first surgery. He moved with friends to Colorado where he fell in love with the mountains and weather. In Denver he entered the school of DIT "Denver Institute of Technology" for HVAC, heating and air. This career took him from Denver to Grand Junction to Vail, Aspen and Fort Collins. He took great interest and pride in his work and all the customers he served for 20 years.
His new goal by the grace of God is to receive a gift from a donor as we pray for the donors family and God's hand in it.
Organ Donors = Life. We encourage everyone to give life a be an organ donor. Facts are that one donor can save up to 8 lives and enhance the lives of 40 others. More than 80,000 men, women, children are waiting for a life saving transplant. Every 13 minutes a new name is added to the transplant waiting list.
Thank you all for your care, prayer and support as Randy faces the fight of his life. He continues to strive to emprove his strength with daily exercise and is up to 2 1/2 miles on his pedometer. He is strong willed and a fighter and will continue to do so.
As many can imagine the financial burden has taken its toll over the years. Randy had to stop working in September of 2013 because he needed to be on oxygen full time and no longer had his strength. After this he continued to be hospitalized in October at the Mayo for several weeks and then again New Years Day 2014 a trip to the emergency room in Colorado where he was hospitalized for weeks again. Now he is in good hands with daily monitoring in the Mayo hospital trying to stay positive for the future. Thank you to all for any support that will go towards his medical bills and care in recovery when ever that comes.
Organizer
Lisa Salerno Black
Organizer
Windsor, CO