Have A Heart For Joanie Joan was diagnosed with HCM when she was pregnant with her daughter Nina in 1991.  HCM is a disease that thickens the walls of the heart making it pump irregularly.  The heart inevitably stiffens.  Since Nina was born, Joan has been living with a pacemaker/defibrillator.  After 24 years, unfortunately, her heart can no longer properly function and she needs a heart transplant.   In January her health began to steadily decline and Joan was admitted to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital for testing and evaluation to determine if she was eligible and strong enough for a heart transplant.  She was placed on the transplant list.  As her blood type is O+, it could be more than 2 years before a heart became available in New York.  As there was no heart available, the only option was for an LVAD.  An LVAD is an electronic device that will make the left ventricle work properly and is permanently placed in the heart through open heart surgery.  It must always be attached to a power source.  They also had to surgically implant a temporary external RVAD, which teaches the right side of the heart how to keep up with the left side.  There were several complications and surgeries that have kept Joan in the Cardio thoracic ICU for months now.  She has overcome much and is a fighter.  She is on the road to recovery, but it will take a lot of time.   Nina left her home and job in California to be with her mother during this trying time.  It is very costly to travel and park at the hospital in the city every day and to maintain the bills that need to be paid. Joan has not been able to work and it will be sometime before she can return to work. She is scheduled to have her third open heart surgery again next week to remove the RVAD.   She will require intense physical therapy as half of her foot was amputated along with continued medical attention for quite some time.  The expenses will only continue to mount.   All donations will be used to help support Joan and Nina during this difficult time.