Dennis' New Heart
Hi, my name is Julie, and I am fundraising to help aid my parents through one of the most difficult times in their lives.
On Sunday August 29th, my father Dennis Connors was brought to the hospital with what appeared to be just a common stomach bug. When the doctors at Charlotte did their exam, they discovered that he's actually had a heart attack and he was rushed to Hartford hospital that night.
Monday August 30th, he was put on an ECMO machine and ventilator as we were told he now had a 2cm hole is his heart that was damaged beyond repair and a transplant was the only way to save him.
Tuesday August 31st he came off the ventilator as he started to breathe on his own. A rasp in his voice, but it started to look like Grandpa again. We were told they had a transplant board meeting on Thursday, so we had a hopeful 2 days in front of us, but due to his condition, he had to stay connected to all the machines to keep him alive.
Late Thursday, he was approved for the transplant! Given his sickness, he would be listed as a Priority 1. We were told this could take anywhere from a day to 2 weeks.
Things were starting to look up, but later that night his health severely declined again, and they had to re-intubate him.
Friday came and went with no news on a heart, but they had to put Dad into a medically induced coma and paralyzer medicine to help him with the pain and allow the machines to continue to do the work.
Mid-Saturday, September 4th, we received a call to say "they've found a possible donor match, we may have a heart". They were able to confirm everything and they would go to retrieve this organ the following day.
Sunday we waited by his bedside for the surgeons and team to be like "alright its go time". We were originally told the surgery would take place in the morning, then that got pushed out until noon. 1pm came around and we were told that there were delays at the donor's hospital, so the surgery was delayed further. It was one of the most anxiety induced situations anyone can go through. the clock has never moved slower in my life.
3:30 pm rolled around and the amazing team at Hartford Hospital said it was go time. They packed Dad up for travel and whisked him away to the Operating Room. We received a call around Midnight to say that everything looks great, and received a second call around 2am telling us that the surgery was successful and the new heart was beating on its own!
With this transplant comes a lot of new requirements and life saving medications that he will need for the rest of his life. This fundraiser is a stepping stone in the right direction to ensure that my parents can live their lives together, my sister and I get our father back, and his 2 grand-daughters get their grandpa home.
Any donation is greatly appreciated. The journey ahead is going to be a difficult one, and every little bit counts. Feel free to share with friends and loved ones.