Donate Life #JennieStrong & My Story of Hope
By Teresa Higby
In the era when I grew up, it was rare for us children to visit a doctor, but as a young girl, I clearly remember my mother taking me in and the doctor telling her that something was very different about my heart. It wasn’t until my late 30s when my doctor pushed me to see a cardiologist that I was diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, a congenital heart disease. I was put on medication and coped with my situation as best as I could. With great sorrow, less than ten years later I lost my younger brother to the disease.
I continued to work and raise my three daughters, until 2003 when I could feel my condition worsening. Work and daily life had taken its toll, and I became pacemaker dependent. By 2005, things had progressed to my first of three open-heart surgeries and more procedures than I can count.
By 2015, my cardiology team in Portland at OHSU gave me two options- heart transplant or hospice. The outlook was not great, as I had such a complex case and a very high amount of antibodies, which the team worried, would cause rejection. I was referred to the world-class Cardiology department at Cedar-Sinai Hospital in Southern California and therefore had to leave my family in order to relocate.
There, I underwent two rounds of plasmapheresis, to lower my antibody count, agreed to participate in a clinical research study medication to reduce rejection, and waited. I was told truthfully that the odds were slim. To my surprise, on December 28th, 2016, I received the call.
It has been just over a year since I received my new heart, which beats perfectly within me. I was under the close care of the cardiology team at Cedar-Sinai during the months after my surgery, and I have been blessed to have no complications or signs of rejections.
Even with my speedy recovery, I did not feel totally healed until I was able to make contact with and eventually meet my donor’s family. I learned that my donor lived a life devoted to family and her faith. She was strong and brought joy and light to all who loved her. Her family is truly wonderful, and they have given me the most precious gift imaginable. There are no words to express that amount of gratitude and honor I feel.
Throughout the last 30 years, as I have struggled with my heart issues and the anxieties that came along with it, I believe that it is my faith in my own life’s purpose and my ability to advocate for myself as a patient that has seen me through this process. It has brought me to the point that I am at right now in life; the point where I can give back, in order to honor all of those who have given so much to me.
Thank you to Teresa Higby for sharing her story of donation and how the gift of life can truly save and change lives. If you’re interested in learning more about how you can support organ and tissue donation find out how to help here.
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