Change of heart

Longtime Baptist preacher has heart transplant

Roger Tidwell, pastor a Baptist Church in Howe spring of 1992 recently a list for a heart transpla suffering another heart December and with byp surgeries already in the mirror, his doctor had n options but to seek anot

Tidwell shockingly rece phone call only three da being put on the list on telling him that they had match and to get packed 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

"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

"They were then just trying to save my life and that put into motion about everything that could go wrong went wrong," said Tidwell

Instead of a five-to-seven day hospital stay, he was incubated four days and in ICU for nine days and in the hospital for another 11 days

Upon leaving the hospital and recovering at a nearby apartment, his blood sugar dropped, and Cecile had to call 911 which called for another two weeks in the hospital

"I'm like six weeks behind what the normal transplant recipient would be because of the complications," said Tidwell

The heart came from a 20-year-old individual but by protocol, they cannot find out who the donor was unless the family of the donor makes that step But the heart was rejected by Tidwell's body immediately, but the doctors must take several steps before they can determine if it is an official rejection His new heart was experiencing Atrial fibrillation (also called AFib or AF) is a quivering or irregular heartbeat

(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 bring his blood pressure down "I feel good now, but it took me about six weeks longer than everyone else," said Tidwell. "I'm to the point where I'm feeling bored now and I want to go to the show or go paint or something "

Cecile, however, has spent the last two months carrying for him and being beside him throughout all the ups and down of the emotional scar tissue

"It's been pretty hard and scary," said Cecile as she fought back a tear talking about it

Now that the hard part is behind him and he says he's feeling good - not great, he's ready to begin the rehab phase which is a 12-week program including breathing treatments, walking, and riding a stationary bike With the amount of time that he spent laying in the hospital bed, Tidwell has lost a severe amount of muscle in his legs which are extremely thin He's lost over 30 pounds

"They told me that if I can eat it, to let me have it," said Tidwell who then joked that he's eaten enough