Heart Transplant Essay Example

Heart Transplant Essay Example Heart Transplant Essay Heart Transplant Essay My step-father John had a CARDIAC TRANSPLANT at the age of 53. This story is about him and his journey through all of this. He has been through a lot and is lucky to still be with us. John was outside one day cutting the grass on his riding lawn mower. When all of a sudden he started having this really bad chest pain. He went inside told my mom and she called 911. The ambulance came picked him up and took him to the hospital. When he got to the hospital the doctors started running a ELECTROCARDIOGRAM. They announced he was in CARDIAC ARREST and the doctors gave him NITROGLYCERIN, which made him stabilize. The next day he was seen by the CARDIOLOGIST, and was told he had a heart attack due to ARTERIOSCLEROSIS. Three days later he was rushed to the hospital with the same symptoms. The local hospital air lifted him to Duke Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE and ANGINA. Once he was at duke, he was told he had a major heart attack and was put in the INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (ICU) for EXTENSIVE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION. He was told he would have to go on the transplant list. To be eligible for the transplant list, he had to go through numerous test to see if he could handle a transplant. During these test he had to see the PULMONOLOGIST due to having DYSPNEA. The pulmonologist used a BRONCHOSCOPY to look at the inside of the lungs. He was then diagnosed with PULMONARY EDEMA, and told he might not be eligible for a transplant due to the fluid in his left lung and a possible hole in his left lung. They used ENDOTRACHEAL INTUBATION to clear the fluid from his lungs. He spent another week in the intensive care unit (ICU) and his lungs cleared up. The doctor found he did not have a hole in his lung, and he was then put on the transplant list. He got his cardiac transplant one month later. While doing the transplant they had to break his STERNUM which took about 6 months to heal. After the transplant he had to go on IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE medicines to stop the new heart from rejecting. Two of the major medicines he had to go on were COUMADIN and DIGITALIS. He now has a permanent STENT, due to having a BIOPSY done every 6 months to check for REJECTION. It has now been 10 years since the transplant and he is doing very well. John now has to go to the hospital once a year for a STRESS TEST and CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION to check the condition of the heart. The ANGIOGRAM they receive tells everything about the condition of the heart. He also has to see a UROLOGIST to check the kidneys. The anti-rejection medicine he is on shuts the kidneys down. Above all this he is doing very well and glad to be with us.