Three Hospitals Turned This Mother Away, But Now She Finally Has a New Heart
When all hope seems lost, it can break your heart and make you feel as if you have nothing left to live for — to fight for.
For one mom from North Carolina whose heart was already broken, having a doctor tell her a transplant was too risky was devastating.
“I have been denied four times for transplant,” Cherron Gilmore told VCU Health. “Everything was just going downhill.”
The battle has been a long one — 8 years to be precise. Gilmore’s heart troubles began in 2010 during her third pregnancy.
In her seventh month of pregnancy, the then-29-year-old was diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy. This particular condition causes heart failure in late pregnancy or postpartum, according to Healthline.
“I was scared. I had never heard of this disease. I didn’t know what to expect,” she told People magazine. “I told the doctor, ‘If it’s me or her, make sure you save her,'” she said regarding her unborn child at the time.
Thankfully, Gilmore did survive the pregnancy and birth. Her daughter was born three months early, but now Khori is 8 years old, happy and healthy.
Unfortunately, her mother’s heart condition continued to worsen. “My local hospital was ready to pull the plug on me,” the now-37-year-old told VCU Health. “At that point… I wrote letters to my kids.”
The mom recalled how she prepared to die, writing to her children all the things she would say to them when they go off to prom or get married.
But a spark of hope awaited at VCU Health where Gilmore says her new doctor, Daniel Tang, told her he didn’t believe she was too much of a risk because “everything is a risk.”
According to People magazine, Gilmore was at last placed on a transplant list in September 2018 after years of waiting.
It only took a few weeks before a total artificial heart replaced her old one. “It’s a shame that I had to go to another state to get what I needed,” she said. “But I’m grateful to VCU. I’m still amazed at how fast everything fell into place. It’s been eight years and I’m in awe.”
Now Gilmore is home and looking toward the future. “It just really feels like all is OK in the world now,” the relieved mom told VCU.
We wish this sweet lady and her family the best, grateful alongside them for Cherron’s new heart and second chance at life.
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