Help the TinMan get his heart

Hello everyone, thank you for taking the time to look into my fundraising page. As you undoubtedly know, my name is David Heavrin and after much consideration and discussion with my family and with the doctors, we have decided to move forward in getting a heart transplant. Through the advice and recommendation of the transplant center, we are hoping to raise some additional funds to cover incidental expenses and all of the medical expenses that insurance will not cover for this monumental surgery.

Back Story... in 2019, at 42 years old, I had a massive heart attack, they had termed a widow maker. Staying true to form, I refused to die from the heart attack or the subsequent cardiogenic shock. This did however land me in a coma for about a week while they used machines to keep me alive and allow me to stabilize on my own. The other things that this incident did was that it essentially killed more than half of my heart. With the entire left side of my heart, plus some right side, being turned to scar tissue, my heart was not strong enough to deliver blood to the rest of my body and vital organs. After 7 open heart/chest surgeries, I was placed on permanent life support through multiple surgical implants including a pump that pushes the blood throughout my body.

The Now.... The permanent life support that was implanted in my body, as with any machine, only lasts so long. The Doctors of course have no way to know how long that will be, but on average, they last around 5 years. Now that we are pushing the four year mark, it is time to make our next steps decisions. The Doctors have long thought of the LVAD as a bridge to heart transplant based on the fact that I was young , and heart not withstanding, healthy. The decision does however comes with its own set of drawbacks and risks. After much preparation, deliberation, and consultation with the family and the doctors, we have decided to move forward with getting a heart transplant. (sounds simple huh :))

The Ask... Based on all of the complications and surgeries that I have already had to have, it has been deemed a high risk heart transplant, and as such we are having to go to a specialized transplant center to complete the heart transplant process. Many costs associated with a transplant are not covered by insurance. We are trying to raise some funds to help offset the costs of not only the medical expenses not covered by insurance, but also the incurred expenses inherent to having to use a transplant center two states away. We have already had to go to the transplant clinic twice during the evaluation process. While listed and waiting for a transplant we will have to go down to the clinic at least once a month. All of these travel expenses add up quick and we are looking to help offset those. Then finally when the day comes, we will have to relocate to Nashville, TN for 2-3 months post surgery, as we will have daily appts and testing during that time. God willing, we should be able to then return home, and go back to traveling down once a month or every other month.