Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Heart transplant recipient grateful
Caln resident Wanda Griffith reflects on her new heart and her second chance in life
Resident Wanda Griffith has a lot to be grateful for, and around Valentine’s Day she reflects on her second chance after receiving a heart transplant.
“It’s very hard as a recipient to express my gratitude,” Griffith said, a Caln native. “Talking about my story helps me feel like I’m spreading the joy and opening someone else’s eyes about a donation. It’s hard to put into words how grateful I am. I don’t know my donor’s family, but I made a resolution this year to share my story and get involved to pay their gift forward.”
Wanda was diagnosed at 29 with heart disease. She didn’t let it stop her though. She loved being with her family and friends, going out dancing and just having fun. She embraced life and enjoyed being a mother and having a family of her own. Then one day everything changed.
She dropped her daughter off at daycare and then began to drive to work. When she came to a red-light, she felt like she couldn’t breathe and knew something was wrong. She was literally at a crossroads. Making a left-hand turn would take her to work. The hospital was to the right. She turned right and later learned that saved her life. She had congestive heart failure. Her doctors told her that she would have died if she didn’t get to the hospital when she did. She spent two weeks in the hospital. For the next 15 years she was blessed with good health.
But as her heart aged, it began to weaken. She had a pacemaker implanted in her mid-40s, and the defibrillator went off twice. She was evaluated and was a good candidate for a heart transplant.
She waited for a month and then because of a donor and their family, she was given a second chance at life at 45. Now 51, she reflects back on how her life was before.
“I had been so exhausted before my transplant, that I couldn’t even walk five steps. I was very limited, but I pushed myself for my daughter’s sake and never missed a lacrosse game or band concert that she was in,” Griffith said. “Today, I can run, dance and walk 5Ks. I have so much energy and have been lucky to have no issues since my transplant.
She said she has also been able to do more in life because she has the time. She met her my son who had been adopted.
“He has three children, and I immediately became a grandmother,” Griffith said. “Him and his adoptive family welcomed me with open arms.”
In the time since her transplant, she realized she has more than a new heart.
“I realize that I have a new chance at life. I have so much gratitude. It’s so big and has given me so much hope,” Griffith said. “For my donor family, they had a tragic event that I can never repay. I think about my donor and donor family every day, and their decision that saved my life. I’ve changed as a person since my transplant. I feel so positive and grateful. I’ve let any negativity go.”
In the United States, an average of 22 people die each day while waiting for an organ transplant. In Gift of Life Donor program’s region – the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware - there are more than 5,500 people waiting, and nationally there are more than 118,000 men, women and children are on the waitlist.
Since 1974, Gift of Life has coordinated more than 42,000 organ transplants and an estimated 600,000 tissue transplants. For more information about organ and tissue donation or to register, visit www.donors1.org.