Hostess Rise'
Forum Leader
Username: Risa
Post Number: 10649
Registered: 05-2003
| | Posted on Friday, October 16, 2009 - 12:58 pm: | 
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My name is Joshua Canal. I am a heart transplant recipient and here is my story that got me to here.
I was born with several heart defects. At 18 months i had surgery to correct a co-arctation or the aorta. They also found out that one of my ventricles wasn't developing and told my parents that the only cure was a transplant, but it was not needed at the time. I lived like this for 17 years, an almost typical healthy young boy. Of course my lips were blue and i got short of breath quickly but other than that no complications.
In the fall on '97 I began to have flu like symptoms that would not go away and i was put on a 24 hr holter moniter. The results showed that my heart could no longer handle the work load and now it was time for transplant. I went on the list early December and sat at home waiting. My condition began to go down hill to the point where i could not even walk a few feet without being severely out of breath. I was admitted to the hospital to keep a closer watch on me mid December. After a week or so they decided they wanted a central line. I refused for several days, but was finally convinced by my dad. While I was having the central line placed, I coded on the table and was out for 45m-1h they got back enough of a heart beat to put me on something called echmo. I was on echmo for 5 days.
January 24,1998 around 10pm my parents and the hospital got the call we had been waiting for. There was a heart. I was in surgery by 2am and everything went great.
I have had only 2 episodes of rejection, one in the first year and one about 3 months ago, Currently I work as a paramedic in a Level one trauma center ER here in Tyler, Tx.
So that’s my story. I will be 10 years on in 2 weeks and I can't wait I am going to spend the weekend with my donor mom who I got to meet when I was in the hospital recently.
Thanx for this website it is great inspiration!
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