Jerry's Journey: Heart Transplant #266

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Lutheran Hospital made history in 1985 by becoming the first hospital in the region to perform a heart transplant. Now, the transplant program's celebrating its 25th anniversary and its 266th heart transplant.

"I knew in this body it was coming," Jerry Voltz, 66, said. "I was getting weaker and couldn't do what I used to do."

Voltz had his first heart attack in 1991 at the age of 47. He was playing basketball with his nephews when he had trouble catching his breath.

"It hit me real quick and I just dropped. My legs went out from under me," he said.

Three years later, Voltz had heart attack number two.

"I was at home and had been working all day getting ready for Christmas. I sat down in the chair and had a heart attack," Voltz said.

His third heart attack came when he was about to leave the hospital after recovering from the last heart attack. The fourth was also in 1996 during a stress test .

After the fourth heart attack, Voltz had triple bypass surgery in Indianapolis.

"They told me that with heart disease, [the bypass surgery] would not cure [the] disease," Voltz said.

It did give him 13 years without heart problems, but September 2009 brought heart attack number five. Voltz was at his job stocking the pharmacy at Meijer when he had the heart attack. He was off work for a month. 

"I looked forward to going to work," Voltz said.

Voltz worked in sales for Coca-Cola and Schwans and then recycled hazardous waste at Safety Clean. After retiring, he started at Meijer to help pay off a hospital bill. He had only planned on working there a few years, but ended up staying for eleven.

When he returned to Meijer after his fifth heart attack, he could tell he didn't bounce back like he used to.

"It got to the point where I'd be stopping not even half way through the store to get my breath," Voltz said.

Voltz had his sixth heart attack in February 2010 when he was driving to work. He didn't return to work at Meijer after that one.

"I didn't know anybody who had six [heart attacks]. They all died before that," Voltz said. "I do believe there's a purpose for me. Maybe it's for my family, maybe it's for me [to share my story]."

After his last heart attack, Voltz's cardiologist, Dr. Mark Jones, suggested a transplant.

"He was not going to get any better. He was only going to get worse," Jones said.

At first, Voltz didn't want to take another person's heart.

"Wishing I had a heart transplant tomorrow is wishing someone would die. I can't think about that," Voltz said with tears in his throat.

But after talking with his family and Lutheran's transplant support group, Voltz chose to live.

"Since we would never have transplants if the Lord didn't give people the knowledge to do it," he said. "If it's meant to be, it will come."

Voltz went on the heart transplant list at the end of April. In June, Voltz had to be admitted to the hospital so medicine could help his heart keep pumping.

"It became very evident he wasn't going to get off the medications. His heart was dependent on them," Jones said.

Voltz was Status 1A on the list, meaning he was top priority for a heart. Then July 9, 2010, Voltz got a heart.

"He got a vigorous and fairly youthful heart and it's working really well," Dr. Joe Ladowski said. Ladowski is the surgical director for Lutheran's heart transplant program and the surgeon who performed Voltz's transplant.

When the word that Voltz had a match came in, a harvest team was mobilized. A surgeon and nurses flew to get the donor heart and make sure it was in good condition.

Once the heart was on its way to Lutheran, Voltz went into surgery. Dr. Ladowski opened his chest and prepared to take his old heart out. It wasn't until the heart arrived in the operating room that Voltz was put on a heart-lung machine.

"We have had episodes where the donor team is in a crash and the heart isn't delivered," Ladowski said.

The heart-lung machine works as Voltz's heart and lungs during the actual transplant. Voltz's blood goes into the machine, it gets oxygen put back into it, and it's pumped back into his body.

The donor heart is cross-checked once it's arrived to make sure it is a match and is the correct heart. Dr. Ladowski then cuts out Votlz's old heart and sews in the new one.

"There are five places of the person's heart left; places where the heart normally arises from the main blood vessels. That's where we attach the new heart," Ladowski.

(story continues on next page)

Ask the Cardiologist

Click on the links below to hear cardiologists answer.

What is it like to see the donor heart start working?

Why was Jerry's heart larger than other hearts?

What are the rejection rates for heart transplants?

How are people matched for a heart transplant?

What do people have to do after a heart transplant?

What are the stages of heart failure?

How do I keep my heart healthy?

If I'm young, do I need to worry about heart health?

How many people need transplants? Are there other options for treatment?