Three days after the birth of her son, Vickie Hunter was
told she would need a heart transplant. And if that were
not enough for her to bear, 2 weeks later she suffered a
debilitating stroke that left her paralyzed, unable to read
and write, and robbed her of her memory.
The wheels had been
set into motion several months earlier as Vickie worked at
her job of many years as the manager
of a gas station. It was February 1993, and the heating system
at the station wasn’t working properly. Vickie was
pregnant, and the heating problem made her sick constantly.
One of those illnesses would stay with her—a virus
that was silently attacking her heart.
Early that summer,
less than 2 months before her July due date, Vickie experienced
a sudden, dangerous drop in her
blood pressure and was hospitalized. Her heart was enlarged
and barely functioning. The doctors, concerned about Vickie
and the baby, decided to perform a
cesarian section, and Morris III was born on June 8, 1993.
Over
the next 5 years, Vickie gradually recovered from her stroke,
and her doctor was able to keep her heart going with medication,
a pacemaker and a defibrillator. But each day she lived with
the fear that her heart could stop at any moment. In November
1998, Vickie was admitted to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center
to wait for a new heart. One evening only 3 months later,
her doctor came in with the news she had been waiting for—they
had found a donor.
In an instant, one family’s tragedy
had become another’s
salvation.
A young man had been murdered as a result of an
argument that ended in violence. At 30 years old, Gabriel
Irizzary was gone, and his sister Cristina was left with
an important choice.
She knew that a kidney transplant could have saved their
mother,
who had passed away a few years earlier, so, despite her
grief that night, Cristina made the decision to give the
most precious gift of all.
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On the day before Valentine’s Day 1999, her birthday,
Vickie had a successful heart transplant. During her recovery,
Vickie wrote to her donor’s sister through the Sharing
Network, an organ procurement organization dedicated to creating
awareness about the lifesaving benefits of organ donation
and transplantation. Although she didn’t even know
Cristina’s name, Vickie continued to write to her each
year with no response. Finally, 3 years later, Cristina was
ready to meet Vickie and wrote back.
When Vickie got the call
from the Sharing Network that there was a letter waiting
for her from her donor’s sister,
she jumped in her car and drove 20 minutes to the office
to retrieve it. It wasn’t long before the two women
met and became very close. According to Vickie, “Cristina
told me, ‘I always knew I had made the right decision,
but after meeting you, I truly knew it was the right thing
to
do—to see you with your kids and your family is a blessing.’”
To
this day, Vickie and Cristina see each other often, getting
together on weekends and on holidays. In many ways, they
are like sisters.
Vickie’s strongest inspiration comes
from her family. Their unwavering support has been instrumental
in her recovery.
Her motto of “keeping on” has obviously rubbed
off on her husband, Morris Jr., and her two children. During
Vickie’s ordeal, Morris was laid off and had to find
a new job. When his co-workers learned long afterward that
Vickie had had a heart transplant, they were in shock—“No
one knew because he always came in with a cheery face.” Vickie
is proud that her daughter, Victoria, and son haven’t
missed a day of school as a result of her illness.
Victoria, who, like many 16-year-olds, recently started
taking drivers’ ed, has become an “undercover” advocate
for organ donation. When the time came for the students to
decide whether to sign the back of their licenses to become
a donor, some of the kids cringed. Without even letting on
about her mother, Vickie recalls, “She said, what good
do you think your organs are going to do for you when you
die?”
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Like all transplant recipients, Vickie follows a strict
medication regimen to stay healthy. She takes 13 different
medications—nearly 30 pills a day. In March 2003,
a routine test indicated that she was at risk of organ
rejection. Her doctors adjusted her anti-rejection
medicines, which prevented
her body from rejecting her heart.*
Vickie is a regular
volunteer for both the Sharing Network and the hospital
where she received her transplant.
During Organ Donation Awareness Month last April, the
Sharing Network set up a table at the hospital for
a few days each week to encourage people to sign donor
cards. They had such success that Vickie was able to
convince the hospital to allow them to continue their
recruitment effort beyond that month—and in less
than a year, they have signed up more than 500 new
organ donors.
She tells people who come by the table, “When
you’re gone, you’re gone, but there’s
a part of you that could help to save at least 8 lives
and change 75 others instead of putting it all 6 feet
under.” Vickie
is convinced that when people think about it that way,
they are more likely to consider donation.
In addition to urging people to sign donor cards, Vickie’s
volunteer work at the hospital involves counseling and supporting
people who are awaiting transplants. “It’s a
scary feeling, and you need to keep them encouraged and keep
their spirits up.”
Vickie shares this insight with other
transplant recipients: “What’s
the point of having a transplant if you stop living? Enjoy
your life and your family.” She also urges recipients
to give back at least 1 day a month to help at their transplant
center: “Go
and sit, and hold somebody’s hand. Give them the same
support someone once gave you.”
For those who are waiting
for transplants, Vickie recommends keeping a positive attitude, “and
if anyone comes in with something negative to say, tell them
to go away.”
Just 5 years since her transplant, Vickie
is again a vibrant, articulate woman who cherishes every
moment with her family
and uses her new lease on life to help others in need.
On
Valentine’s Day, Vickie turned 40. The day before
also marked the fifth anniversary of her new heart.
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