Hello,

 

On April 10th, 2022 we were given the biggest blessing and gift anyone could ever receive. Our dad, David Bush was gifted a new heart and a kidney and underwent a double transplant!

 

Our dad has been in congestive heart failure since 2012. The last year and a half, his heart failure was worsening (unbeknownst to us). Last May he got COVID and was hospitalized and it has been an uphill battle ever since. In February of this year, he was admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital due to difficulty breathing, weakness, no energy and no appetite. We found out he was in a fibrillation and was carrying over 15 pounds of excess fluid. They were able to shock his heart into normal rhythm and get what they thought was all the excess fluid off. Fast forward 3 weeks later, he was having trouble breathing, weakness and no energy again. Back to St. Mary’s in Rochester we went. This was March 15th, 2022. The days that followed brought many uncertainties and questions. That is the week we were told that our dad was in “advanced heart failure.” Or another term for it was “end stage heart failure.” We were shocked, scared and didn’t know what to expect. A few days after he was admitted, we were posed with the possibility and option of a heart transplant. Things progressed quickly from there. He was in the hospital for 2 weeks undergoing tests, trying to keep the fluid off, having all of his teeth pulled and going back and forth with insurance. He only has one kidney as he donated a kidney to his beautiful sister about 35 years ago. His one kidney was not functioning well with all of the extra stress it was enduring. On Monday, April 4th, he was officially put on the transplant list for a heart and a kidney! Five short days later, we received the call that we had a donor. It was a call we were hoping to get but weren’t sure we would receive. We were all so grateful and humbled. What a generous and amazing gift.

 

Our Dad will have to live in Rochester for 3 months after being released from the hospital. He is expected to be in the hospital for 2-3 weeks. He will also need a 24/7 caretaker for those 3 months. These are additional expenses that insurance does not cover. Any donations will be used for lodging and to help pay for a caretaker. From our family to yours, we thank you for reading this story and for any donation you can give!

 

Mindy and Jason, Brad, Ben and Nina, Danielle, Matthew, Kayd, Kash and Max