LaShannon Bland knew heart trouble ran in his family. But at age 27, he did not think his heart would start to give out.
"I started feeling tired, short of breath and felt my heart rhythm was bad," said Bland, now 32. "I came to the emergency room thinking I was having an asthma attack. They told me it was heart failure."
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| Ioana Dumitru, M.D., right, talks with transplant patient LaShannon Bland, who was the recipient of the 100th heart transplant at The Nebraska Medical Center. |
Bland began close work with heart failure specialist Ioana Dumitru, M.D., associate professor of cardiology.
"We started him on heart failure medicine," Dr. Dumitru said. "Unfortunately, his heart didn't respond. The next step was to implant a left ventricular assist device (LVAD)."
Persistent problem
Even with the help of the LVAD, a mechanical device that does much of the heart's work, Bland's heart failure continued. Transplant was the only other option.
"I went on the transplant list in January," he said.
On Feb. 3 at 3 a.m., he got the call.
Landmark transplant
Bland was the 100th heart transplant recipient at the medical center.
"LaShannon did very well in surgery," said John Um, M.D., assistant professor of surgery at UNMC and a heart transplant surgeon at The Nebraska Medical Center. "He had a strong recovery and is doing very well now that he's out of the hospital."
Deep debt
Bland is deeply grateful for his donor.
"It's my second chance," he said. "I feel sad that someone had to leave this earth to keep me on it. My love and my heart goes out to them and their family."
Bland doesn't think a lot about being the 100th heart transplant recipient at the medical center. Instead, he looks forward to being the father to his three kids he could not be when he was sick. He looks forward to running with his daughter and basketball games with his son.
Birth and rebirth
Bland feels a special connection to the medical center. Not just for the cardiology and transplant teams, but for the institution as a whole.
"I was born here," he said. "My first life started here, and my second life started here, too."