"My heart almost hurts with gratitude"
Heinz has had a heart transplant for 30 years.
In June 1991, one year after German reunification, Heinz was once again at the University Hospital in Halle/Saale for treatment of his pathological heart enlargement, also known as dilated cardiomyopathy. Despite intensive medical treatment, his condition worsened. His cardiac output was still 15 percent. The only way out was a heart transplant.
In the federal states of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), only the physicians at the Charité hospital in Berlin performed transplants. They gave Heinz no hope of being transplanted there in the foreseeable future. His courage to face life sank from day to day. In confidence, the senior physician in charge suggested contacting Senior Physician (OA) Haverich, now Professor and Director of the MHH Clinical Department for Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, in Hanover. His wife Helga and son Raik immediately got in touch with him.
OA Haverich initiated Heinz's transfer to Hanover. This was not easy due to the political and economic upheaval at the time: one of the biggest problems was the assumption of costs by the health insurance company, especially for helicopter transportation.
Heinz regained his courage to face life when he was transferred to Hanover at the beginning of August 1991, spent the waiting time in the Vinzenzkrankenhaus and received his first heart transplant at the beginning of October 1991.
The relief, joy and gratitude, also among his family, were immense! "The thought of the donor and his relatives and the eternal thanks to everyone who was involved in my new life, especially the physicians, nurses and carers, will stay with me for the rest of my life," says the father of two, who lives in Quedlinburg in the Harz Mountains.
In 1997, an irreparable transplant vasculopathy, a characteristic of chronic rejection, was detected during a cardiac catheterization check-up. In July, he had to be transplanted a second time. The procedure was not without complications, but was successful. "The two transplants have made me even more aware that life is finite. This realization didn't scare me, but prompted me to leave out unimportant things in the rest of my life and not waste time on trivialities," he reports.
Not without side effects
30 years of organ transplantation also means 30 years of drugs that suppress the immune system and protect against rejection. The side effects of the medication have not left Heinz unscathed. "I can still lead an almost normal life, but unfortunately with increasing concomitant illnesses, including renal insufficiency, dialysis not excluded and white skin cancer, which can be treated well if detected in time," reports the now almost 80-year-old.
30 years together
This is another reason why the family celebrated their 30th anniversary in October 2021. "My heart almost aches with gratitude," said Heinz on the occasion of the anniversary. "I have deliberately never celebrated my transplant anniversaries out of respect for the donors' families. It's the anniversary of their death!"
It is thanks to his wife Helga and his two sons Raik and Torsten that his "30th birthday" after the first transplant was celebrated. "Despite all the fears and worries that we had to overcome and deal with, we were given 30 wonderful years together," all three reported in unison.
Heinz is also not shy about expressing his gratitude to his wife and emphasizes: "Without Helga, I would certainly not have reached 30 years. She has always stood by me, motivated me and had to carry a huge burden. She still does that now, especially by keeping me alive with healthy and very special food".
The successful heart transplants and the health stability that continues to this day were and are also a stroke of luck for Heinz's sons. "The fact that our father was and still is able to lead a barely recognizably restricted life as a result of the transplant was and is more valuable to us than a six in the lottery. It's unimaginable that our children would have had to grow up without Grandpa, especially as all four of them spent a large part of their childhood with their grandparents. Not to mention the support for us," Raik and Torsten both said at the anniversary celebration.
Helga finally put it in a nutshell: "As a family, we are simply happy about every day that we have been able to spend together, more or less, and hopefully will be able to do so for a long time to come."
Heinz has been involved in the German Organ Transplant Association since 1991 and is particularly committed to the introduction of the opt-out solution.
He has been a member of the MHH Foundation for several years.