Aberdeen Area Gift of Life: Lorinda Towe: 20 years and still beating!

What We Are All About

The Aberdeen Area Gift of Life transplant support group was formed in 1997 with a charter group of five members and has grown ever since. We would like to thank all who have donated organs to those in need. Our group realizes the hardship of making the decision to donate, and we are here to thank you.Aberdeen Area Gift of Life gives support to its members and support to the community by sharing our experiences with others. To share our Gift of Life we have become a presence in our community. We participate in community service projects, raise awareness for the importance of organ donation, and lend emotional support to those that organ donation has affected. If you would like to get involved, check out our calendar of events or contact any of our officers.

Twenty years ago, I got a new heart when the one I was born with began to fail. It was transplanted to me from a teenage girl that was in a motorcycle accident. I always say "If this heart was 17, I'm really 17 plus 20 which equals 37, yes- I'm really only 37 now."
It was a Monday morning, April 4, 1994, that I got the call. I had already been on the waiting list for a heart transplant for over two years.
My heart troubles began on March 31, 1992 after I put in a hard days work and I felt extremely tired. I was 52 at the time. I thought to myself, I shouldn't be this tired. I just couldn't get any air. So I went to the doctors office. They couldn't believe my heart was still going. They could only tell me that I had a virus in my heart. My only option was a heart transplant.
In this area no one had ever really heard of a transplant at this time, ironically now I know of three other transplant survivors living in Day county.
After being placed on the transplant list, I was told it would be at least six months before I could even receive a new heart. That was the scariest time of my life! I didn't even know if I would live that six months let alone the two years it took to find my heart.
As I waited, I couldn't do much of anything. I couldn't breathe. So I prayed a lot, wrote notes to people, and watched a little TV, but after about a week I was bored of it. My mind was still perfect, but my body wouldn't let me do anything. So I learned how to crochet dollies and afghans to sell for some sort of income while I couldn't work.
As I look back on that two years, I see them as a blessing. In those two years they made advancements in medical technology that are allowing transplant recipients to live longer.
I remember the day I was moved to the top of the waiting list, it was March 15th. At 7:30 the morning of April 4th I received the call. The person on the other end of the phone asked me "Do you want a new heart?" I answered "YES!"
I was flown to a hospital in Minnesota- while on the jet they prepped me for surgery. Within two hours I was at the hospital. My surgery lasted about 12 hours. After I woke up they made me perform a puzzle to stimulate my mind. Since my surgery I have to take numerous medications to keep my body from rejecting the new heart.
It has been a blessed 20 years and I am proud to be telling my story still today.
Remember to be a donor, there is always something they can use to help save another persons life!

Lorinda Towe April 2014