National Donate 2

National Donate 2

>> a single organ donor can save up to eight lives, and the process is easy, once you have made up your mind to become a donor, registering and informing family and friends are the steps.

This decision is profound, and it gives recipients a second chance at life.

With us is steve ford, a heart transplant recipient and the love of his life, wanda ford, and thank you for joining us.

>> thank you.

>> first, tell us, steve, how long have you had your new heart?

>> it will be ten years this july.

>> and what were the circumstances that led you to need the heart transplant?

>> well, i traveled and i was on the road for my job, and i traveled extensively, so didn't eat very healthy, and in 1996, i came home one night and had a heart attack shortly after i got home.

And that was kind of the beginning.

>> and wanda, when your husband suffered the heart attack, what went through your mind?

That must have been a very scary experience.

>> he was down on the floor, and i had my daughter calling 9-1-1 and i was calling my son to help me do cpr.

They were here with us.

>> was that the only heart attack that you had, steve, or did you suffer other heart attacks after this one?

>> that was the first, and i had a second heart attack that was like a silent heart attack.

I'm diabetic and i didn't realize that i had a second heart attack.

But we found extensive damage in my arteries through diabetic artery disease, and so that was kind of the beginning of it.

>> and so you got on the list, so we're fast forwarding to many dr. visits, and how long were you on the list for a heart transplant before you received word that there was one out there for you?

Three months.

>> so not very long at all.

Were you shocked?

I mean some people wait for months, years to get a transplant.

>> it depends on the severity of the disease, and i had just gotten home from musc.

And i was down there almost a month and a half.

My organs were shutting down, and it was getting critical.

So we were looking at weeks, if not days.

>> now, your life has changed significantly since the transplant.

And you started a group.

Can you tell us more about this?

>> well, in 2012, i just -- i really wanted to start a group right after my heart transplant.

Wasn't able.

And it was not the time.

And our first meeting was january of 2013, and we had i think about 29, 30 people almost at the meeting.

Sarah and kay moore, and charles, they were instrumental in getting the word out and sending out letters.

And it just started from there.

>> this is a support group for both pre and post-transplant recipients, is that right?

>> yes, it's a three-part journey and first, finding out that you're going to need a transplant, which don't cater to just heart transplants, but we have any kind of transplant we welcome in our group, because basically, we all go through very similar circumstances, and then getting on the list, that's the goal.

The first goal.

And then after that is wait for that all important call.

>> and of course we're going to have all of the information on how people can join your group on the social media platforms, and real quick, have you been in touch with the heart donor's family.

>> i do not.

>> what do you say to the family?

>> i would say thank you, because i get very emotional, but i was able to see my forty grandchild born, and i didn't think that i would be able to reach that point in my life.

And it's the time that my donor has given me.

Time to start this support group.

Time to help other people through these journeys, and to help the caregivers as well, because that's a tough job.

>> and steve, we're glad you're here with us, and i know your wife is as well, and your whole family.

So thank you so much for joining us and sharing your story.

You're an inspiration for a lot of folks, and i think we'll see a lot more organ donors after hearing your story.

Stay healthy.

>> i get emotional.

>> it's understandable.

Thank you so much.

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