For God Loved Me: He Gave Me a Second Chance with a Second Heart

For God Loved Me: He Gave Me a Second Chance with a Second Heart

July 2005, life was supposed to be exciting! My oldest daughter was preparing to go off to college with all the dreams of college life. We were preparing for her orientation, and this was a proud and exciting moment. I on the other hand would have a life-changing event happen within a week’s time. A week before the trip to orientation/registration, I noticed some abnormal bleeding. It wasn’t painful, just unusual. I was already three months late for my yearly physical, (very busy summer) and when I tried to schedule an appointment, the earliest opening wasn’t until September. Something in me said, don’t wait that long. I called my primary care doctor instead, and he was able to see me that following Monday — perfect timing, we were leaving for orientation Tuesday.

During my breast exam, he found a lump I never expected. I was shocked but not worried, I had other things to focus on. He wanted me to get a mammogram immediately, but I asked to delay it until Thursday because of the college trip. When Thursday came, I had a diagnostic mammogram, and they saw the lump. The nurse scheduled me to see a surgeon the very next day. I chose the only surgeon I knew — the one who had operated on my husband’s shoulder years earlier.

When we arrived at the surgeon’s office, I signed in, sat down and looked around at the patients in the waiting room, wondering why each person was there.Were some of them like me and this was the first step of a possible long journey like mine? Had some of them already had their surgery and were just coming back for a follow up appointment?As my mind drifted, we were called back to the room. When the doctor came in, and we spoke, by next words to him were, “can you order a frozen section of the mass”? A frozen section meant the pathologist would examine the tissue immediately, and I wouldn’t have to wait for days to get my results. I asked and he said yes. We had already decided that if it was cancer, I would have a mastectomy. Why go through two surgeries when we could do everything at once? Before we left, he asked if he could share a verse with me and I said yes. With bible in hand, he proceeded to read from what he said was the center of the bible, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” It was exactly what I needed.

When I woke up from surgery, I asked my husband was it was cancer and he said yes. No one in my family has ever had breast cancer. It came out of nowhere. I was glad I asked for the frozen section. It was my way of saying: I want to be part of this process. I deserve to understand what’s happening to my body. I will not be a passive passenger in my own care. We later found out it was stage IV breast cancer. I started chemotherapy a month later and then very aggressive radiation a few months after chemotherapy. I had a wonderful Oncologist. During this time, I was working on my MEd and was able to finish it and I even attended graduation.

November 2021, just three months after retiring after working over 30 years in the Clinical Laboratory, I was diagnosed with chemotherapy induced congestive heart failure. The medication that gave me 16 extra years of life was now killing me.

I wore a life vest from January to June 2022. I had a defibrillator placed in June. I stayed on the same treatment plan for over a year, but my numbers never improved. I had more good days than bad, but the truth remained, I wasn’t getting better.

February 2023 a new medication was given that caused several severe side effects. While in the hospital for the second time within 45 days, my husband told the on-call provider I couldn’t continue taking the medication, the provider wasn’t happy. That moment changed everything. My daughter reached out to my cousin who is a Nurse Practitioner in Birmingham, four hours from our home, to ask if she could find a new cardiologist for me. I was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday and saw the new provider that Friday, four hours away. They listened. They cared. They made me feel emotionally and physically better. But my number still didn’t improve. It was spring and my symptoms weren’t as bad when the weather wasn’t cold.

In June 2023 one of my new providers suggested trying a pacemaker. Because of scar tissue from my mastectomy, they had to perform a procedure to see if it was possible. The test showed it was. As my husband and I sat in the exam room thinking he would come in and explain the details of the procedure for the pacemaker, he had something else in mind. He came in and proceeded to tell us: “Mrs. Parker, after reviewing your case with Dr. King and consulting with the transplant team at UAB, we’ve agreed that you need to consult with the transplant team at UAB. What!? I didn’t think I was “that bad.” I couldn’t imagine needing a heart transplant. But my numbers never improved. I asked him, “Why can’t we just try the pacemaker first?” He said they really thought it was better to see them before we tried the pacemaker.

Considering I didn’t think it was necessary, I asked him if I could ask him a question, he said yes. I proceeded. “If I were your mother, (he looked 24!) what would you tell me to do?” He said, with all the care on his face that I’ve ever seen from a provider, “Mrs. Parker, that’s a great question. If you were my mom or my sister, I would tell you to consult with UAB.” I believed him. I agreed. He, his partner, and the transplant team had advocated for me to get a third opinion without my knowledge. Before we left, he told me that UAB would be calling me for an appointment very soon and if after seeing them, if they said it’s ok to do the pacemaker, he would. I never saw Dr. Benn again. I did reach out to him via MyChart to thank him for saving my life.

To get to the appointment, I drove an hour to my sister’s house so she could take me the remaining three hours. That’s how good I felt. My husband was having surgery the next day and could not take me.

From the moment we arrived at UAB, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time: reassurance that everything would be ok. The person who scheduled my appointment, thanks to a last‑minute cancellation, was remarkable. Before I ever stepped foot in the building I felt like I was in good hands. Once I got there, that feeling only grew stronger. Every person in each department that I went to was kind, professional, and caring.Two nurses even took me to the first department, EKG since thanks to maps, my sister dropped me off at the back door to the clinic. They could tell by my body language I was lost. Before my consultation, I underwent several more tests. Before my sister parked the car, I had finished with the EKG. Everything was going smoothly, that felt like a good sign.

My appointment to see the doctor was at 1:00 and we were in the room- at 1:00, that was a great sign! When the doctor walked in, he introduced himself and I introduced him to my sister and my cousin. He then looked me in the eyes and said, word for word:

“Mrs. Parker, we’ve reviewed your results from Alabama Cardiovascular and your results from today. We need to admit you to the hospital today and fix what’s going on now. While you’re here, we need to evaluate you for a heart transplant — and you may not get to go home until you receive a heart.”

Wait what!? I was stunned. My mind went in so many directions. I can’t need a heart. So, are you saying someone had to die for me to live? That can’t be what’s happening. I’m sure the doctor was reading my mind. After my family stepped out to make phone calls, he gently said, “If you need to go home, I can send you with medication and you can come back in three days.” But I didn’t hesitate. I said no. I was too afraid to leave and risk something happening. I had never imagined needing a new heart — but I knew I needed to stay.

My husband couldn’t come because he was having surgery the next day. When he got the call, he was shocked. I looked fine on the outside; he couldn’t understand how things could be so serious on the inside.

The transplant coordinator came to the room and went over a ton of information. I was in a hospital room before 3:00 p.m. I transferred rooms to move to the Heart/Lung transplant unit. My sister stayed by my side, my cousin came daily during her lunch break, checking on me and reminding me I wasn’t alone.My husband could not travel that far until his 2-week follow-up appointment. My sister wouldn’t leave until he got there.

I was overwhelmingly grateful that I was at UAB. I continue to thank God for allowing everything to come together at just the right time. For my cousin, my daughter, and the incredible UAB Medicine team for saving my life. For my donor family who gave me the chance to see and do so many more things in this life. I thank my husband and my sister for being my daily advocates and caregivers! All my family and friends prayed for me. Within a couple of weeks after being admitted, June 14, 2023, I was approved to be on the transplant list! I received my new heart on July13, 2023! It was not easy excepting such an incredible gift. I left the hospital after being there 45 days and had to stay in Birmingham six more weeks.

I continue to pray for my donor’s family and thank God that he has given me a second chance at life. He is always right on time! Thankful to all those who prayed for me. I was on the prayer list at some churches that I didn’t even know about at the time. I am forever grateful for the love shown: which not only came from my family but from my doctors who sought a third opinion. They knew they couldn’t save me so without my knowledge, they cared enough for me by reaching out to the transplant team at UAB Medicine.

I continue to do things to keep my heart healthy and advocate for tissue and organ donation as an ambassador for Legacy of Hope, Birmingham, AL. I also tell others my story in the hope of saving someone by reaching out to different providers.

Some of my activities post -transplant:

5K four months after surgery.

Eight months post‑transplant: another 5K, one day before my 62nd birthday

Less than a year after my transplant, I competed in the Tennessee Senior Olympics and won gold in three track and field events and silver in another.

The following month after this, and the week before the year anniversary of my new heart, I competed in the Transplant Games of America in Birmingham, earning silver medals in both the 60M and 100M events.

I have registered for the 2026 Transplant Games of America in Denver Colorado this June. Lord willing: it will come to pass!