 |
|
Ron Ingle
Heart Transplant Recipient
|
My father died of congestive heart failure (CHF) when he was 51 years old. My twin sister died of the same disease at age 40.
I learned at age 42 that I also had CHF. In 1996, my first trip to see a cardiologist at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City revealed that my heart was in very poor condition. It was very large and weak, with only a 13 percent left ventricle ejection fraction.
Dr. Jerome Anderson, an INTEGRIS cardiologist, decided to treat my condition with medication and diet modification. I followed his course of treatment and my condition seemed to stabilize, with an increased ejection fraction of 18%, due to medication, diet and exercise.
During my course of treatment with Dr. Anderson, I was fortunate to be included as a test subject (Guinea pig) in several experimental drug studies. Ultimately, in the year 2000, one of these studies proved that I was in desperate need of a heart transplant.
In November 2000, an appointment was made for me to meet Dr. David Nelson of NZTI. The first meeting with him was in the first week of January 2001. He decided to hospitalize me at INTEGRIS Baptist for the series of tests necessary for being listed as a transplant candidate.
By the second week of January, my condition had worsened and I was admitted to 701 transplant intensive care, where I was listed almost immediately to a status of #1-A for a heart transplant.
On February 4, 2001, my old heart could no longer function well enough to keep me alive, although I had received a pacemaker/defibrillator three weeks earlier.
My transplant team, having no available donor heart, decided to open my chest, surgically attach four hoses to my old heart, run those hoses out through four small incisions in my abdomen to a “bedside heart” called a bi-ventricular assist device or BIVAD. After this procedure, I remained in the ICU for nine days in a coma, until a donor heart became available. My transplant occurred on February 13, 2001. I received the heart of a 55-year-old man. I was 47 at that time.
This heart is eight years, four months older than I am and has just been wonderful! I now have a 65 percent ejection fraction and have never, since my transplant (almost six years), been re-admitted to any hospital for any heart or transplant related reason.
It took more than two years for me to find out about my donor, but it was worth my efforts. I met the wife of my donor and she has shared with me the answers to all of the questions I had. I have been to her home and we have visited my donor’s gravesite together more than once. I now consider her to be a member of my family and she has written to me that she considers me a part of hers. We exchange several cards and letters each year.
I like many things I have learned about my donor. Some of them are:
- He was born during WW II, so, I can say I have a World War II heart.
- He was a Vietnam veteran, so, although I was never in the service, I have a veteran’s heart (Vietnam 1966 – U.S. Army)
- My donor was a construction worker who spent a great deal of time outdoors. I was much the same.
His widow gave me a very special gift. I have, and carry in my pocket, the “old-timer knife" that my donor used to carry. It is just the most personal thing she could have shared with me. A man’s pocketknife is a great part of his identity. I feel very fortunate to have two gifts from him. His heart is the other.
After my transplant, I wrote a book entitled, 701 ICU: The True Story of a Heart Transplant Patient. There are several things I would like to add since I wrote the book:
- Life is of a much more spiritual nature to me now, and has been since my transplant.
- Possessions mean almost zero to me now, as I realize that our time on this earth is so very temporary, like a whiff of perfume on the wind … But…
- Every moment is precious, and I have been so incredibly fortunate to have received such a good heart and such fantastic care from the 54 doctors and hundreds of nurses and technicians who put this Humpty Dumpty back together again.
- Something noteworthy – since my transplant, I have not ever again been hospitalized with any heart or transplant related problems.
 As you can tell, old vehicles are my thing. We have four (4) Model Ts (all 1926s), one 1928 Model A Ford, the old tractor shown here, a restored 1936 Ford pick-up, a 1958 Apache Chevy pick-up restored and a 1957 Chevy Bel-Air.
My other main hobby is building pole-sheds. Every spring, I single-handedly build another shed (or add on to existing ones) to hold another 3 or 4 vehicles.
I guess the thing that I enjoy most is to cut and split my own firewood. From April to October every year I enjoy taking my Stihl chainsaws and my hydraulic log splitter to disassemble dead trees. I only cut trees that have already died. This is just part of my personal respect for the things God has given us. Denise and I have central heat in our home, but have not used it in years. It’s hard to beat “free” heat from a good woodstove!
It’s wonderful to enjoy doing all of these things, due to this fine heart. Thanks go to my donor and his wife, all of the doctors and nurses at INTEGRIS in Oklahoma City, and our Father.
Best Wishes,
Ron L. Ingle
Heart Transplant # 315
Dover, Oklahoma
|