Heart transplant recipient shares power of faith, determination

From The Western Edition  News Desk

At 30 years old, Ila May Fisher is filled with gratitude and the unique knowledge that humanity is composed of some pretty amazing people.

Fisher is a heart transplant recipient who in 1997, was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy.

“The heart is weak and doesn’t pump normally, most patients develop heart failure,” Fisher said.

She was 18 years old when she received the news and was not expected to live unless she had a heart transplant. Against medical advice, she went home to get on with her life. Years later, while living in Humboldt County, Fisher collapsed and was air lifted to the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco.

Fisher was about to undergo a complete transformation.

“When I arrived at UCSF Medical Center on September 16, 2004, I was in multiple organ failure. My heart, liver, kidneys and lungs were all (failing). I had an estimated three days to live. I was so weak that I could not lift my arm off of the bed, and the nurses had to turn me every 30 minutes so that I would not get bedsores.

“I began to pray,” she added. “I told God, ‘If you can help me – and I do not know how – I promise that I will not live my life for myself, but for others.’”

Two days later, a surgeon explained that she was too sick to receive a heart transplant, but could be placed on a Ventricular Assist Device, or VAD – a 400-pound machine that would perform the work of her heart. She was told this was the only option to save her life and she had to make a decision immediately. At age 24, she agreed to the procedure suggested by the surgeon. As Fisher lay on the operating table, the surgeons cut her chest open and inserted several large tubes into her heart. Connected to the VAD, it pumped blood to the rest of her organs instead of her own ailing heart.

Every day following the operation was a painful struggle, she said. For example, Fisher still had to be turned every 30 minutes and every time the nurses touched her she felt like she was being “beaten with hammers.” But the doctors encouraged her to think positively and as she imagined her blood tests getting better, they did in fact improve.

Seemingly small challenges began to become the stepping-stones to her eventual recovery. Medical staff did not want to give her water because her body had become swollen with fluid, however, she remained thirsty. Hospital staff gave her ice chips instead. One day, she saw a cup of water within reachable distance and made a commitment to herself.

“I was thirsty and every time I asked the nurse for water, they would only give me ice chips. I was so swollen they wanted to cut down on the amount of fluid in my body so that my heart could rest. So I told myself, ‘If you get that water, you will live. If you do not, you will die.’ I could feel my skin rubbing against those tubes, but I was determined. It took me a long time, but I got the cup. It was the best drink of water that I ever had.”

As time went on and her test results improved, Fisher received a treadmill. She told herself, “If you walk you will live, and if not you will die.”

Fisher’s residence was the intensive care unit at the UCSF medical center. Her life on the unit was filled with the daily possibility of someone dying.

She remembered her reaction when a patient in the room next to hers died and was wheeled out.

“I went into my room and cried because in all reality, we were both fighting for our lives. There is nothing that made us different; we both had an equal right to live. How did I know that I would not be next?”

Fisher grew stronger in her resolve.

“The next time one of my fellow patients died, instead of hiding, I got on that treadmill, moved faster and harder than ever and vowed that the only way that I was leaving the ICU for good was walking out on my own two feet.”

After months of training, she was able to get onto her treadmill independently and eventually ran five miles every day while hooked up to life support.
While hospitalized, Fisher was offered hearts from two sources; one from family members who had lost a loved one and the other, a lung transplant patient who offered her own in the event her surgery was unsuccessful. Fisher declined both because of her hope for her own recovery.

“I felt like I owed my body the efforts and I could not accept a transplant until I exhausted all of my other options. Accepting an organ carries a tremendous responsibility because someone has to die for it.”

Fisher’s heart eventually became too weak and had to be replaced. Finally, she agreed to receive a transplant and went on the list. Fisher was fortunate … a match was identified a few days later.

After a 15-hour operation and several blood transfusions, Fisher said, “I woke up to see the most amazing people I have ever met in my entire life, and of course, there was no babying. The day after my transplant, they made me get up and walk.” There were many challenges following the surgery, but Fisher overcame them.

Today, Fisher is a beauty consultant. Her life transformed, she shares her experience as a way of encouraging others.

“I went through all of these trials to show people that even in the darkest of times, your life can change … there is always hope,” Fisher said. “If I found happiness attached to machines in the hospital, then people can find joy no matter what they are going through in life.”