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Monday, July 15, 2019
Change of heart Longtime Baptist preacher has heart transplant Roger Tidwell, pastor at First Baptist Church in Howe since the spring of 1992 recently was put on a list for a heart transplant. After suffering another heart attack in December and with bypass surgeries already in the rearview mirror, his doctor had no other options but to seek another ticker. Tidwell shockingly received a phone call only three days after being put on the list on May 6 telling him that they had found a match and to get packed. He thought it was a joke. "She had to have the doctor call because I didn't believe her," said Tidwell. Meanwhile, wife Cecile was taking no chances and as soon as the conversation began, she understood that it was time to start packing bags. https://www.txfb-ins.com/insurance/agent/Grayson/23242/LorettaAnderson
"It was just one of those situations where everything matched up. It was a God thing," said Tidwell. Typically, when someone receives a heart that quickly, it usually means that the patient is already in the hospital and must have one to stay alive. Tidwell was not in that situation as he was hoping to receive a heart in three-to-six weeks. The surgery took place at Baylor University Medical Center where there were major complications from the heart transplant surgery as one of his arteries had fused to his sternum from a previous bypass surgery. During the transplant, they cut the sternum and cut the main artery which made him code twice.
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Roger Tidwell (arrhythmia) that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications. His blood pressure would drop without warning which caused him to pass out from standing. After a while, the doctors determined that the entire issue was stemmed from dehydration throughout the process. Tidwell was in heart failure mode for such a long period of his life that his kidneys had to work extra hard to keep the fluid out of the heart. With the transplant and a good heart, his kidneys were still working feverishly which made him dehydrated throughout the recovery period. "I drink Gatorade and water all day long," said Tidwell. "And of all things, they had me on a high salt diet to keep my blood pressure high on purpose."
Once they get him stable, they'll "They were then just trying to save bring his blood pressure down. my life and that put into motion "I feel good now, but it took me about everything that could go wrong went wrong," said Tidwell. about six weeks longer than everyone else," said Tidwell. "I'm to the point where I'm feeling Instead of a five-to-seven day bored now and I want to go to the hospital stay, he was incubated four days and in ICU for nine days show or go paint or something." and in the hospital for another 11 Cecile, however, has spent the last days. two months carrying for him and being beside him throughout all the Upon leaving the hospital and ups and down of the emotional scar recovering at a nearby apartment, tissue. his blood sugar dropped, and Cecile had to call 911 which called "It's been pretty hard and scary," for another two weeks in the said Cecile as she fought back a hospital. tear talking about it. "I'm like six weeks behind what the normal transplant recipient would Now that the hard part is behind him and he says he's feeling good be because of the complications," - not great, he's ready to begin the said Tidwell. rehab phase which is a 12-week The heart came from a 20-year-old program including breathing treatments, walking, and riding a individual but by protocol, they cannot find out who the donor was stationary bike. With the amount of time that he spent laying in the unless the family of the donor makes that step. But the heart was hospital bed, Tidwell has lost a severe amount of muscle in his rejected by Tidwell's body immediately, but the doctors must legs which are extremely thin. He's lost over 30 pounds. take several steps before they can determine if it is an official "They told me that if I can eat it, to rejection. His new heart was let me have it," said Tidwell who experiencing Atrial fibrillation then joked that he's eaten enough (also called AFib or AF) is a quivering or irregular heartbeat page 6
