A Message From Hannah Gallet
As many of you may know, Dad had his heart attack when he was just 30 years old. Ever since then, he has struggled with his heart condition. With only 10% heart function, he never let it affect his daily life! You would have never known he was living off of that little percentage. Pop was still working, fishing, coaching me and his grand daughter Chloe in softball and doing everything that he loved to do! But that little function that he did have, caused him to have cardiac episodes very frequently. We knew that a heart transplant would come one day down the road but at the time, we didn’t know when. After having so many episodes and having his defibrillator shock him, this was only causing more damage on his heart. They decided to put him on the transplant list. He had been on the list for a little over a year at this point. Pop went in for a routine check up only to hear that his heart was getting worse and that he wasn’t leaving that hospital without a heart. We were told that if he left the hospital all of his other organs would have started shutting down. His doctors saved his life that day. Nine weeks admitted in the Cardiac ICU at Oshners in New Orleans. They put in a balloon pump in his leg, to help keep his heart beating. This device kept him in his bed, at an angle for a couple of weeks. Which to most people would be very frustrating, not being able to do as you please. But if you know our Pop, then you know that he did not complain one bit. They then decided to put in a Impella. An Impella is a device that is placed in the left ventricle. This device was giving Pops heart and rest and beating for him. Throughout this entire process, Pop continued to be patient and kept his spirits up, I have no idea how he did it. Having Dad away from home was the hardest part on me personally. He has always been my go to guy. Whether I needed just a hug or a talk, he wasn’t there. But I knew he was in great hands in New Orleans. We would go see him EVERY weekend, in hopes that “today will be the day”. All of his doctors kept saying, “it’s coming soon”. Well, we finally got the call on Monday, August 15th around 4:30 pm, that Dad got his perfect heart. Many happy, sad, and scared tears were shed. We are so incredibly excited that Pop gets a second chance at life. He is the toughest, patient, most selfless man that I know. He deserves the absolute world and we love him so very much. (Not to mention, his nurses were ABSOLUTELY amazing through this entire process. When I tell you he knows all of his nurses names, i’m not being sarcastic. They all love him so much, because he is such a great patient)
As we celebrate our amazing Pop, it is only right to celebrate his Donor and his family as well. We have received the wonderful gift that you and your loved one so unselfishly gave. This gift is like no other we have received in this lifetime or that we’ll ever receive. We know that thoughtful, caring and loving people made the gift possible. We can only express our deepest gratitude and always keep you in our thoughts and prayers. While we may not know you, we know things about you that many around you will never see. We understand that light and love in you are much deeper than one could imagine. We have cried tears for you. We will always remember you and your loved one, and in our remembering, we will be called to always act to our highest good. We have known the best we can be – you have modeled it for us. We will live in gratitude for your absolute and inconceivable generosity.
With that being said.. become a Donor. It could save you or your loved ones lives. #donatelife #HeartsupforPop 🩷🩷
