The Transplant Process

I want to write about my heart transplant journey because I’ve noticed that transplants are a popular thing. Maybe they always have been but I just wasn’t in that light and know much about it. Now that I am talking about it, it is therapeutic for me.

First talk of transplant

The first time I was told I needed a transplant I was 18 years old. I went through the whole procedure and one day I received a letter saying they were taking me off the heart transplant list because my heart was doing better.

Toll of pregnancy

That was a moment of rejoicing and I couldn’t believe God had answered my prayers. I got pregnant with Isaiah in 2015, and that’s when the transplant talk came back up. My pregnancy had drained me dry. I stated before that my heart went down to pumping 20% for both of us.

Back through the process

After I gave birth to Isaiah in August 2015, they recommended I get back on the list because my heart had taken all it could take. In November/December I went through the process again and that time was a little different because I was really sick after the birth of my son. All my organs had been affected in a serious way.

I was given a medication that helped pumped my heart 24/7 due to the fact it had gotten so weak. I had a nurse that would come out once a week to change and clean my lining and bandage so that I wouldn’t catch an infection because they had to put a pick-line in. I carried a 3-pound fanny pack around my waist until I received the call for my heart.

Anxiety was real

That process wasn’t easy for me at all. I had just lost my baby, was put on a heart transplant list, and had nurses come out on a regular basis. That feeling was overwhelming and sometimes caused me to get frustrated with the people around me. Not that I wanted to or meant to, but my state of mind was getting the best of me.

That’s when I started to accept that my anxiety was a real thing and not something that the doctor was trying to put on me. I was watching a video of my sisters and me singing at a church program and tears came to my eyes with gratitude because I went back to that time in my life and couldn’t believe how far I had come.

My purpose

My faith in God kept me going in the times I wanted to give up. I was so little/skinny and my skin had gotten so dark. I was so fragile and sick that it showed on me, I almost didn’t recognize myself. Many days I thought it was the end for me but it was always something deep down inside me that kept pushing. I always felt I had a purpose and a reason why I was going through what I went through. I am here today to say my purpose is revealing itself.