Patient Stories - Heart Failure & Transplant Program
Hairdresser
San Jose, Calif.
Heart Transplant Recipient
Date: August 6, 2000
When Irene Morais sustained injuries in a 1991 near-fatal car crash, she never thought they would lead to a heart transplant almost a decade later. But after suffering from back pain, weakness and a cardiac arrest, Irene's cardiologist diagnosed her with restrictive cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart's ventricle walls stiffen and the heart loses its ability to pump properly.
Still in denial--and with her health deteriorating rapidly--Irene contacted California Pacific Medical Center's Heart Failure and Transplant Program in October 1999 at the advice of her doctor to schedule a heart evaluation. After undergoing a thorough evaluation, Irene was determined to be a transplant candidate and her name was added to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) waiting list in January 2000.
While she waited for her transplant, Irene continued working as a hairdresser but found that her energy level was so low, she could barely make it through the day. Then, in July 2000, her condition deteriorated even further and Irene was admitted to California Pacific's intensive care unit (ICU). She was elevated to a 1A on the waiting list, meaning that her situation was critical and she was at the top of a list for a heart transplant.
"I felt like I had a lead blanket over my body," Irene explains. "The drugs I was given to help improve my health didn't work for my condition and it just felt like I was dying," she says.
After nearly a month in ICU, Irene's doctor told her that a heart had become available for her. "I was crying when he told me," Irene says. "I knew I needed it and was not afraid at all."
On August 6th, the morning of her transplant, Irene's family was at the hospital at 5 a.m. as she was being prepped for surgery. Her heart transplant took about five hours and as soon as she awoke from the anesthesia, Irene was full of questions for her doctors about the experience. "I felt that I was finally among the living after surgery," Irene explains. "I had my mouth tube taken out within five hours and learned how to maneuver without grasping anything with my hands (while my sternum healed). I was out of bed and able to sit in a chair the day after surgery, and every day I felt better. It's such a nice feeling to be independent again."
Irene adds, "I've been in and out of many hospitals, but the care at California Pacific Medical Center is different than all of them. The nurses who helped me were all angels. After surgery, my nurse stayed with me for 16 hours straight--she was wonderful and kept my spirits up. And the heart team is so dedicated and brilliant. The physicians, the nurses, the chaplains--they're all like family to me."
Now that she has her new heart, Irene wants to make every day count and do what she can to help others in a similar situation. "I'm proof that this can happen to anyone," says Irene. "And I feel like everyone who cared for me was doing God's work--I just want to do what I can to help too."