Heart of the matter
Transplant gets Houston rapper back to beats of life
Miles Segun-Oside started coughing in December 2018.
It would come and go but didn’t seem like a big deal. He was told it was bronchitis, and the treatment made him feel better. But when the cough came back, worse this time, he returned to an emergency room. Again, he was told it was bronchitis. Then pneumonia, until tests revealed his liver and kidneys weren’t properly functioning.
It made sense. Segun-Oside was always tired. Not a good look for the promising young rapper known as Kilometers, who was born in Germany and lived in London and Albuquerque, N.M., before coming to Houston in 2008.
“I don’t know how I did it, but I remained calm and just kept a smile on my face.” Miles Segun-Oside
There were more tests, and doctors eventually diagnosed nonischemic cardiomyopathy, or congestive heart failure. It was a frighteningly familiar situation. He was just 11 when his mother died of heart disease at 34 years old.
“The left side of my heart had really enlarged. That just made me think of my mom ’cause that’s what she passed away from,” Segun-Oside, 28, says. “I was like, ‘Wow, that’s so crazy.’ ”
It was Feb. 20, 2019, when Segun-Oside finally received the proper diagnosis. He was told the way things were going, he likely had only a week left to live.
Dr. Sriram Nathan, a cardiologist at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, says Segun-Oside was in “dire straits” when he arrived there in March 2019.
“All this was slowly building. He had so much swelling in his ankles, feet. He was not able to lay flat. He had fluid in his lungs. His blood pressure was low, and it was all driven by his heart not pumping enough blood to the other organs of his body,” Nathan says. “In medical terms, he was in cardiogenic shock. He had the
sensation as though he was being drowned in his own secretions.”
‘Don’t panic, don’t worry’
An ultrasound of SegunOside’s heart found multiple blood clots in the chambers and that it was not pumping effectively. Through surgery, he was fitted with a left ventricle assist device (LVAD), an artificial heart pump that delivers blood to other organs. Even then, it had to be immediately replaced because of potential blood clots. After six months in the hospital, he was discharged.
“Through that whole process, I don’t know how I did it, but I remained calm and just kept a smile on my face,” Segun-Oside says. “I had God with me, and I had my family with me. Them being there at the hospital, sleeping there with you, keeping you comfortable, telling you, ‘Hey, it’s gonna be OK. Don’t panic, don’t worry.’ ”
The LVAD includes a driveline that came out of his stomach and was connected to a pump controller and two lithium batteries. It stayed with him 24/7, inside a bag he wore across his chest, even during live performances. His Instagram account, @realkilometers, features several photos and videos of Kilometers
onstage with the bag.
During his time in the hospital, Segun-Oside continued to focus on music. He was first inspired as a teenager in England, seeing English grime artist Lethal Bizzle’s “Pow! (Forward)” video flash across the screen after school. His first song was a remix of Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day” recorded on an iPhone 4.
He currently runs Leading Legacy, a local recording studio and label. His 2020 album “Emotions” was released while he was still in the hospital. The cover features a photo of him superimposed atop a drawing of a heart. He calls his music “uplifting, positive, energetic and fun.” It’s reflected throughout the album, particularly opening track “Yay We Made It,” a chronicle of his journey from sick to healthy.
“It’s the best outlet for me to express myself ’cause I’m a quiet person. I really don’t talk a lot,” he says. “I figured, ‘Hey, let me write something and see what comes from it.’ It just gives me hope that even with anything you go through, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.”
A new heart
But the LVAD was only a temporary fix, “a bridge to something
more definite,” Nathan says. The next step? Deciding if Segun-Oside was a good candidate for a heart transplant. There were scans, blood tests and a rigorous medical review board. Status 1 patients are considered in “dire need” of a heart, according to Nathan. Segun-Oside was right in the middle, at a 3. As of July, he had spent more than a year on the waiting list.
He released another album, “Night Vibes,” in March, again while he was in the hospital. This time it was for a life-threatening infection from where the LVAD driveline exited his stomach. He was, as always, in good spirits, cheesing in a hospital gown for his 16,000 Instagram followers. The album release was already in the works, so he stuck with the release date.
“He’s an enterprising gentleman. I’ve had the opportunity to listen. He’s very innovative and has something unique and special,” Nathan says. “Miles was so sick that he was hardly able to catch his breath, to the point now, he’s back to his normal self, and he’s able to fulfill his dreams as a rapper. We are wholeheartedly supporting his dreams to come true.”
Segun-Oside also got back onstage. He won a regional competition
that qualified him for the national finals of the Raising the Bar Showcase on Aug. 21 in Atlanta, where he would perform for record execs in hopes of getting a contract.
“The room was shocked and, like, ‘Wow,’ ” says TreaDot, Raising the Bar founder. “People called me about working with him.”
But everything changed, again, three weeks ago. SegunOside got the call that a heart was available. He’s been in recovery through August, went home this week and, incredibly, has stayed in touch through social media.
“I’m good, still in hospital but able to move around and do things on my own,” he wrote.
He’ll go through physical therapy to regain strength. He’ll continue pursuing music as a rapper and a businessman. And he plans to return to school to study phlebotomy.
And, best of all, the LVAD is gone after more than a year of lugging it around.
“It hasn’t fully hit me yet. But it’s a blessing, and I’m just grateful,” he says. “Honestly, just being free and being able to get back to life.”