As a child, 25-year-old Chris Collins won a hard fought battle with cancer. Now, as an adult, the Council Bluffs, IA man is doing well in the days after receiving a new heart.
Collins was transplanted in the early morning hours of Thursday, January 26th at The Nebraska Medical Center. His wait lasted less than two weeks. He was first listed for a heart transplant just ten days before surgery.
“When Chris called us, we couldn’t believe it,” said mother Cheryl Collins. “We were still adjusting to the idea of a transplant when Chris was notified that a heart was available.”
But, despite the short wait, Chris Collins’ journey began years earlier with a separate battle. At age two and a-half, he was diagnosed with Wilms Tumor, a type of kidney cancer that primarily affects children.
Collins’ diseased kidney was removed and he underwent chemotherapy. The treatment was successful and at age seven, he was cancer-free. But the family’s victory was bittersweet. When Collins was 16, he began showing signs of another problem, cardiomyopathy. Doctors determined his heart failure had an extremely rare cause – a late effect of the chemotherapy he received as a toddler.
“Chris always told us he beat cancer so he could beat this, too. He’s not bitter about it, just determined to fight and get better again,” said his mother. “Our pastor tells us there’s a purpose – Chris uses the word destiny.”
Today, Collins’ prognosis looks better than ever. “I anticipate a steady recovery and a life full of new hope,” said Mohammed Quader, M.D., lead transplant surgeon at The Nebraska Medical Center and assistant professor of cardio-thoracic surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
The heart transplant marks number six at The Nebraska Medical Center since September 30th, 2005.
“It’s pretty remarkable that we’ve transplanted six patients in less than four months,” said Kim Duncan, M.D., Chief of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and professor of cardio-thoracic surgery at UNMC. “We’ve come a good distance. The team is working well together and everyone is looking forward to helping even more people in the future.”
Currently, there are no patients on the hospital’s heart transplant waiting list. The five previous recipients are all making promising recoveries.
A national campaign is on the horizon. February marks “American Heart Month” – a chance to raise awareness about cardiovascular diseases and its risk factors. Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women.