Help Larry (and Marci!) recover after his heart transplant

Larry went from the picture of health to having a massive heart attack -- a so-called "widow maker" -- on May 22.

After a few days in ECU's cardiac ICU, he was air-lifted to Duke University and words like “heart failure” and “transplant” started showing up in conversations. For a while, Larry stabilized and it looked like they would be sending him to the step-down unit and then on his way home.

But then he coded on the 9th of June. "It’s not a bad way to go," he said, "but it scares the hell out of your wife."

At that point, his best option -- by far -- and the only option that would get him back to a normal life, was a heart transplant. It was a big psychological impact for him to go from no history of heart disease to needing a heart transplant in only 18 days.

Given that he is relatively young and otherwise in very good health, he was a very good candidate for a transplant. The fact that he also needed a balloon pump and then an Impella (an external pump) for life support moved him to Status 2 on the transplant list. Still, there were a few times he doubted he would get home, and on nights when things were really bad, he said that dying felt like a less bad option.

It took a couple weeks to complete the extensive transplant screening, then a couple more weeks to get a good match. During his time on the wait list, he worked hard on breathing and reconditioning, walking a bit over a mile each day to try to regain the 16 pounds of muscle mass he’d lost in his 7-week stay in the cardiac ICU. He was highly motivated, knowing his physical reconditioning could mean the difference between recovering well after surgery... or not.

Finally, on Friday July 5th, he got a new heart. He is now home and has weekly follow-ups for a month, then bi-weekly follow ups for three months, and then monthly follow up to the one year mark. Numbers are hard to pin down, but given his age, health, and condition, he is expected to live another 20-30 years. Such good news!

At his first follow up and heart biopsy post-transplant (July 18th), Marci (his wife) suggested they name the new heart Champ. Larry heard "new heart" and said “No, let’s name it Bob….Bob New Heart”. She laughed as they both love Bob Newhart’s dry humor. When they got home, they found out Bob Newhart passed away at age 94. So, in fond memory of Bob and the humor he gave to so many, the new heart has a name.

Now the bills are starting to come in.

Larry is unable to work this summer (and won't be able to work for at least the next year!) and Marci had to take 8 weeks off work so she could stay with him in his hospital room for this entire stay. Let's help them get back on their feet!