Congenital Heart Defect Awareness - Day 3

A new heart warrior that we have "met" over the past year is Bill Coon.  Bill  was born on April 24, 1989, Bill Coon Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.  His parents were told that the only option was a heart transplant and Bill had 21 days left to live.  If they waited longer than 21 days, the rest of his organs would begin to fail.  In the last hours of his 21st day, the phone rang with a donor from Canada. That night Bill became the fourth infant to receive a heart transplant in the Midwest, and the eighth in the nation.

Over the years, Bill did not suffer any complications. On June 8, 2009, he was rushed to the hospital where he was diagnosed with end-stage heart and kidney failure. He later spent 70 days in the Intensive Care Unit awaiting his second heart and first kidney transplant. His life was saved on October 21, 2009.

Bill wrote a tell-all memoir, "SWIM: A Memoir of Survival" which provided vivid details of his experiences.  It was very enlightening and difficult for me to read his memoir.  But it provides such a unique perspective and I couldn't put it down.  Of course, we hope and pray that Audra will not need a heart transplant but it is always an option that may be on the table.

We have an autographed copy of his memoir with a message made out to Audra.  He is wise beyond his years.  Below is an excerpt from an email that he sent to me:

On a deeper note, you mentioned your constant questioning of her future and if you are making the right decisions. A huge part of that speech that I never presented in Michigan was about not thinking about tomorrow. You need to focus on today. Focus on finding the beauties and happiness in today and allow Audra to find those beauties and that happiness. Overall, you need to allow her life to dictate the course of her illness as opposed to allowing her illness to dictate the course of her life.

Here is an introduction to Bill Coon: