Hi everyone!
As a lot of you may know, my dad, Todd Heath, received a heart transplant on 03/22/2026 at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY.
First, a little backstory. In 2013, my dad was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy and subsequent congestive heart failure. We soon found out this was due to a genetic mutation called the TTN gene. This means that it was nothing that my dad did wrong; it was written in the cards. Things slowly began to snowball from there. His heart failure became so severe that in January of 2021, he needed an LVAD, otherwise known as a left ventricular assist device. This involved an open-heart procedure to implant a large machine that would take over for the left side of his heart while the rest of the equipment was connected outside of his body, resulting in having to wear a backpack full of equipment 24/7. However, this was meant to be temporary. What he desperately needed was a new heart. From there, my dad was shuffled around between Geisinger, UPenn, Hershey, and URMC undergoing numerous tests to get listed for a heart transplant.
On 11/12/2025, my dad came up to Rochester for what we thought was a routine appointment. It was then that they realized he was in persistent atrial fibrillation and was overloaded with fluid and required admission to the hospital. However, we knew what this meant. He was too sick to go home and would need to be admitted to the hospital until he got a heart transplant. Soon after admission, he was officially listed for a heart transplant but there was a catch; during the course of his heart failure, his kidneys were damaged and he needed a new kidney too. Now not only did we have to wait for a heart but for a kidney too.
My dad was then admitted to 4-3400 at Strong Memorial Hospital on the cardiac care unit. This is where he lived and made a little home for himself, bonding with the nurses and providers that cared for him daily. It wasn't ideal but we had our eye on the prize; a new heart and kidney.
Around 1am on 03/21/2026, we got the phone call that we've been preparing to get for years; a heart and kidney had FINALLY become available for him and he would be going for a heart transplant the next day.
I picked my mom up and we all headed to Strong to see him off to surgery. This wasn't just your run-of-the-mill surgery; this would be a surgery that completely changes the trajectory of his life. No more LVAD. No more PICC line. No more AICD. For the first time in over a decade, my dad would be able to live a normal life.
However, things didn't quite go to plan. He received the heart transplant but his new heart was not doing as well as they hoped and he was bleeding much more than they expected. This resulted in him being placed on ECMO, which is the heart and lung bypass machine. They made the difficult decision to not move forward with the kidney as my dad was clinging to life in the ICU. After 3 invasive surgeries, multiple massive transfusions, and multiple medications, the bleeding was finally under control. He remained intubated and sedated in the ICU for 3 days before he was able to be woken up. Since then, he has been making amazing progress! He is fully awake, the breathing tube is out, and he is no longer on ECMO. His new heart is finally keeping up.
Although we seemed to have made it past the hump, we have a long road ahead. He will need to stay in the cardiac ICU a bit longer, then he will be transitioned back to his original cardiac floor before coming home. However, this home will look a little different. My dad will be required to stay in the Rochester, NY area for a few months after he is discharged, which means that he will be staying with my fiancé Mike and me in our apartment.
That brings us to our reason for this GoFundMe. For nearly 30 years before my dad got sick, he worked as a paramedic and firefighter protecting and helping the community in our hometown of Shamokin, PA. For years, he was the only source of income for me, my mom, and my disabled brother, who has cerebral palsy. Ever since he got sick, we've been silently struggling to make ends meet. My dad has sacrificed so much of himself to support us and it's time to return that favor.
With your donation, the proceeds will go towards directly supporting my dad as he gets reestablished post-transplant as well as my mother and brother back in PA. Any donation helps, no matter how small! If you can't donate, a share, a comment, a phone call, a warm meal, or a prayer would go a long way too!
If you don't want to send money via GoFundMe or have another way in which you can support us, please feel free to reach out to myself, Teagan Heath, or my mom, Karen Heath.
Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for all your continued support and love!
***UPDATE 04/08/2026***
hi everyone! i just wanted to give the update that my mom informed me of; for the past year, my dad has not received any government assistance and everything has been getting paid out of pocket, draining all of our savings, retirement, everything. this journey has been anything but easy and finances should be the least of my parents' concerns. please consider donating if you can. so much love to all of you that have shared, donated and reached out!
-The Heath Family