Mike Fricke

I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2012 at the age of 27. In August of 2016 I was admitted into the ICU at Abbott Northwestern and placed on the waiting list for a heart transplant. During my stay I had an LVAD (heart pump) put in to allow me to to stay healthy enough until a heart was found. Once the Lvad was put in I could wait on the telemetry side of the hospital and have a bit more freedom. Although I was in the hospital and knew the seriousness of my situation and even with the setbacks that happened while I was there, the entire staff from the doctors to the nurses and coordinators and on down to the housekeeping staff, they were some of the big reasons to stay positive and made the wait more pleasant. On December 10th at five in the morning one of my doctors came to my room to inform me that a heart had been found.

I would not be here today if it wasn't for the gift of life through organ donation and the heroic decision to be an organ donor.

Several days after the transplant as I was being moved from ICU to the telemetry unit, things really sank in when my doctor told me I was no longer a heart failure patient. Although still to this day a specific cause for my heart failure has never been determined, I am for ever thankful to my Donor for the heroic decision to become an organ donor