Hi, I’m Zack. I want to tell you about my best friend

30 Years ago my best friend was born with half a heart. After going through many open heart surgeries as a baby, he lived a pretty normal life.

3 Years ago he went into heart failure and the journey to get a new heart started. His entire life took a 180 onto a path none of us could have planned for. After countless surgeries, hospital visits, and experiences I can’t even begin to put into words, he got on the heart transplant list.

3 Weeks ago we made it. We were driving down to the Cape for a fun weekend, sitting in bridge traffic, when Brett finally got the call that they have a heart for him. We immediately turned around as he was telling everyone the good news. Somewhere between the constant texts and phone calls pouring in, we drove past a billboard for the new Spiderman movie and he exclaimed, “Aww I’m not going to be able to see Spider Man in theaters!”. When we got to the hospital, I took the above selfie as Brett was being prepped to go into surgery. By the following day, with a full heart, he took his first full breath since he was born and achieved a blood oxygen level he’s never had before.

Today Brett’s still recovering in the ICU. Brett’s congenital heart defect means that this wasn’t a swap, it was an upgrade. And with that has come a longer recovery than expected. Brett’s mom, Lori, has had to take time off of work to be with him in the hospital and provide care after he’s able to go home. Brett has now been asleep for 3 weeks post-transplant with every day being full of new challenges, set backs, surgeries, and an indescribable emotional rollercoaster of highs and lows.

The Future though is full of a lot of hope because Brett is still steady on, currently stable, and progressing through every complication like the tank that he is. We are not sure when he will be waking back up but we predict a long road ahead until he's finally back to 100% and can resume his life, career, and financial independence. He's so close and finally over the main humps!

It is very uncomfortable and rough to ask for help but the loss of income and daily commuting costs between Worcester and Boston is becoming difficult to manage. If any of you are able to support them, I can promise you it will go to a brother of mine that brings belly laughs and good vibes to those around him that can’t be matched.

If you've had the luxury to know Brett you know he's one of the real ones that really makes you the best version of yourself. I couldn’t be more excited for him to finally start living his life at 100%. Doing things each day that he’s only dreamed of and enriching everyone’s lives around him for a lifetime to come.

Thank you, truly whether you donate or not, for reading this and we thank you for giving Brett any prayers or thoughts that you can.

With immeasurable gratitude and love to the doctors and nurses at Mass General and everyone that's helped us so far,

Zack & Lori