By KMTV
Reprinted With Permission An amazing story of persistence and faith, an Orchard Nebraska man could have given up after his heart transplants were cancelled on the day he should’ve gotten them. But Sam Schwager didn’t. Tears welling in his eyes Schwager has a new heart and a new pep in his step. “My faith just carries me through, none of us, are guaranteed the next day,” he told a hospital room full of reporters on Thursday. Rewind back to 2004, he had to have bypass surgery. Then 9 years later in 2013 Schwager passed out at dinner. He was told the culprit could be his thyroid -- but it turned out to be his heart. After being flown to Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, a device called an LVAD, was installed to help his heart function and blood flow correctly. Last July, doctors scheduled Schwager for a heart transplant, it was abruptly cancelled. “They can do all their pre-checks and echos but still the surgeon has to get it in his hands to see it, he decides the final answer,” Schwager said. A second heart transplant was rescheduled last month. When he woke up, he thought he'd gotten a new heart. Instead, he'd gotten the bad news, the heart he was supposed to get the second time, wasn't stable either. “I probably wasn't as devastated as I was the first time, because it had already happened once,” said Schwager. “It was an emotional roller coaster, but at the same time I didn't want a bad heart, I already had one, didn't need another one If a donor's been in car accident, has a gunshot wound, or other organ injuries that can mess up their ability to donate a good heart. But just last Saturday - Sam got the news he'd been waiting to hear. “The doctor says I got you a heart, Sunday morning I got a heart, “ he said crying. The rarity of transplants is very high in Nebraska. Last year alone there were only 38 transplants. For Nebraska Medicine, Schwager’s transplant marked their 200th one in a decade. The husband, father and grandfather of seven celebrated his 64th birthday Thursday, July 23, on the day he was discharged. |
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