Dawn Byars (KTLA) |
OCEANSIDE (KTLA) -- "May 22nd, Saturday, is when my heart stopped."
Dawn Byars is speaking straight from the heart -- her new heart.
Dawn and her Marine husband Michael of Oceanside had known she was living on borrowed time. She was born with a rare abnormality in her cell... one that made her heart weak... a condition called cardiomyopathy.
"With advanced cardiomyopathy, your muscles start wasting away," explains Dr. Daniel Cruz, a heart failure and transplant specialist at UCLA Medical Center. "You could definitely see signs she was wasting away, but she was holding onto 40-50 pounds of fluid on a 90 pound frame."
Dawn's condition presented a shocking appearance -- her bones showing through her skeletal frame, yet an enormous belly where fluid pooled in her abdomen since her weak heart couldn't pump her blood properly. She was alive... but barely.
"I was tired, I was exhausted, I couldn't do things for myself," Dawn recalls. "Even though physically it was a challenge, and it was hard, I refused to give up."
Doctor Cruz recommended a heart transplant for Dawn. And the life-and-death waiting game began for a suitable donor.
"In Dawn's case we were waiting 4, 5, 6 weeks and hearts werent becoming available," said Dr. Cruz.
But Dawn persevered. "I didn't have a choice. I had to wait. I chose to keep positive attitude through it. I'd wait and see, and hope. I knew I would get a heart. I believed it!"
Dawn was willing to wait but her weak heart was not.
"She had a very unfortunate event, which is that her heart completely gave out," Dr. Cruz explains.
Dawn's husband Michael recalls their darkest hour. "She went into cardiac arrest. Her heart stopped. For all intents and purposes, she died," Michael says, his voice breaking.
Doctors at UCLA resuscitated Dawn, and stabilized her failing organs.
Then in the nick of time, as if an answer to Dawn's prayers, a donor heart became available.
Information on the donor family is of course confidential, but their act of kindness has given Dawn a second chance.
"In Dawn's case it literally saved her life," Dr. Cruz says. "I don't think shed be here if somebody didn't do that."
And Dawn says the important takeaway lesson for all of us is the importance of organ donation. "It works!" Dawn says with a bright, healthy grin. "Im the example of that! I came back. I'm here to show you."
Now, after seven months with her new heart, Dawn undergoes monthly biopsies, in which Dr. Cruz extracts minute samples of her heart tissue to analyze for signs of rejection. And so far, with each measurement of the strength of her heart, the news has been excellent.
Both Dawn and Mike know that their donor family has given them a future, where before there was none.
"I had dreams, but I let those dream go," Dawn recalls, with tears in her eyes. "I couldn't see that far into my future. My donor family gave me those dreams back."
Now the Byars' hope to grow their family, and Dawn's looking at a life of possibilities -- embracing each day with her new, full heart.
"With every heartbeat, my donor refuses to let me die," Dawn says. "And with every breath, I refuse to let my donor die. So we're surviving as one."
Dawn Byars is speaking straight from the heart -- her new heart.
Dawn and her Marine husband Michael of Oceanside had known she was living on borrowed time. She was born with a rare abnormality in her cell... one that made her heart weak... a condition called cardiomyopathy.
"With advanced cardiomyopathy, your muscles start wasting away," explains Dr. Daniel Cruz, a heart failure and transplant specialist at UCLA Medical Center. "You could definitely see signs she was wasting away, but she was holding onto 40-50 pounds of fluid on a 90 pound frame."
Dawn's condition presented a shocking appearance -- her bones showing through her skeletal frame, yet an enormous belly where fluid pooled in her abdomen since her weak heart couldn't pump her blood properly. She was alive... but barely.
"I was tired, I was exhausted, I couldn't do things for myself," Dawn recalls. "Even though physically it was a challenge, and it was hard, I refused to give up."
Doctor Cruz recommended a heart transplant for Dawn. And the life-and-death waiting game began for a suitable donor.
"In Dawn's case we were waiting 4, 5, 6 weeks and hearts werent becoming available," said Dr. Cruz.
But Dawn persevered. "I didn't have a choice. I had to wait. I chose to keep positive attitude through it. I'd wait and see, and hope. I knew I would get a heart. I believed it!"
Dawn was willing to wait but her weak heart was not.
"She had a very unfortunate event, which is that her heart completely gave out," Dr. Cruz explains.
Dawn's husband Michael recalls their darkest hour. "She went into cardiac arrest. Her heart stopped. For all intents and purposes, she died," Michael says, his voice breaking.
Doctors at UCLA resuscitated Dawn, and stabilized her failing organs.
Then in the nick of time, as if an answer to Dawn's prayers, a donor heart became available.
Information on the donor family is of course confidential, but their act of kindness has given Dawn a second chance.
"In Dawn's case it literally saved her life," Dr. Cruz says. "I don't think shed be here if somebody didn't do that."
And Dawn says the important takeaway lesson for all of us is the importance of organ donation. "It works!" Dawn says with a bright, healthy grin. "Im the example of that! I came back. I'm here to show you."
Now, after seven months with her new heart, Dawn undergoes monthly biopsies, in which Dr. Cruz extracts minute samples of her heart tissue to analyze for signs of rejection. And so far, with each measurement of the strength of her heart, the news has been excellent.
Both Dawn and Mike know that their donor family has given them a future, where before there was none.
"I had dreams, but I let those dream go," Dawn recalls, with tears in her eyes. "I couldn't see that far into my future. My donor family gave me those dreams back."
Now the Byars' hope to grow their family, and Dawn's looking at a life of possibilities -- embracing each day with her new, full heart.
"With every heartbeat, my donor refuses to let me die," Dawn says. "And with every breath, I refuse to let my donor die. So we're surviving as one."
