Heart transplant

Robert Morris is a 41 year old loving father of 9 year old Gianna. He is a hardworker who owned a landscaping company and was very into his health and fitness. On March 6th 2020 our lives changed drastically.

Rob had what we thought was the flu in January, but when weeks went by and he was not feeling any better he went to Cherry Hill Jefferson. There he was diagnosed with what we thought at the time to be insomnia, anxiety and depression, but nothing was getting better and Rob could not sleep for days. Every time he would lay down he would cough and he felt like he was drowning. Finally on March 6th 2020 I took Rob to Jefferson Washington Township and waited for what felt like an eternity to be seen. I pleaded with the ER triage nurse telling her that something was not right and he is saying he can't breathe, despite what his vital signs were saying. Finally we get called back to ER and he is placed on a stretcher in the hallway. Rob got hooked up to EKG machine and right away it said he was in rapid Afib (an irregular heartbeat) and his Heart Rate was in the 160s! He had blood work done and it showed his BNP (indicative of heart failure) was 1360 and he was filled with fluid all around his heart (this explains why he coughed every time he would lay down). Right away he was admitted and given IV lasix (a diuretic) to get the fluid off, but his blood pressure dropped low to the 70s. While at the hospital he had an echo ( check how well the heart is functioning) of his heart. This showed that his EF was only 15% (normal EF is 55% to 65%) and his heart was in bad shape. He spent the weekend and than was transferred to Our Lady of Lourdes (virtua) that Monday.

While at Lourdes he had a cardio version (shock heart back to normal rythm) that was only successful for 1 day because his heart went back into Afib! He was transferred to Critical care and was started on a milrinone drip(ife sustaining medfication to help with the squeeze of his heart) he spent a few days there and was not able to be weaned off. The cardiologists had told us that his heart is very sick and there is nothing else that can be done for him as he needs advanced heart therapies. That night he was transferred to Deborah and had a defibrillator and pacemaker placed. They tried to wean him off the milrinone drip but was unsuccessful. So now the next steps the Cardiologists need to talk about. They said his heart is very sick and the only way to get better would be a heart transplant. 

Rob is now being evaluated by Robert Wood Johnson for a heart transplant. This is a long road but the only option he has. Since all of this has happened he has lost his business and is not allowed to work until he gets his transplant. He is on SSI,but 23 is being taken out for child support(he petitioned for 50/50 and was denied by the courts without reason despite his change in circumstance) He is currently getting placed on the list but they are not sure how long it will be before he gets a heart and how long he will be out of work for. He has a long journey ahead of him, and we are praying for the best outcome.