⚡MINI: A New Heart, A New Life - One Woman's Incredible Journey

Imagine being unable to dance for more than five minutes without gasping for air, being tethered to oxygen at home, and facing the reality that you don't have long to live. This was Vanessa's life before receiving a heart transplant that completely transformed her existence. In this deeply moving episode, Vanessa shares her remarkable journey from waiting on the transplant list to dancing the night away with newfound energy and appreciation for life.

The conversation reveals fascinating insights about organ transplantation, including the emotional complexity of receiving a donor heart and the surprising physical changes that followed. Vanessa's story isn't just about medical intervention—it's about second chances, gratitude, and the beautiful mystery of how our bodies and spirits connect.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
My Heart podcasts here more miex one or two point
three podcasts, playlists and listen live on the free iHeart.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
App All right, Max, I was lucky enough to meet
someone at an Adelaidy event a couple of weeks ago.
And when I met her and she told me her story,
I had tears running down my face and I just
love this woman so much. Immediately loved her, and I
need her to tell that incredible story to you and
our listeners.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
So I have her on the phone.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Her name is Vanessa.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
Hello, Hi everyone.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Now, Vanessa was on the dance floor and she came
up to me and she said, Hailey, I just have
to tell you this is the best night of my life.
And then I.

Speaker 3 (00:51):
Asked why dance for hours before? So I'm so grateful
I have a brand new heart and then be able
to go to the slumber party and dance the night
away and have oxygen and blood flow and circulation and
meet Haley and Laurence. That's an incredible night.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
Yeah, So that's amazing. What would have happened previously if
you had tried to go and dance the night away
with the gals?

Speaker 3 (01:18):
Yes, I would have to kind of sit down and
watch or I'd probably be able to dance for five
minutes and then I'd be really really puffed and kind
of gasping for air. My oxygen levels were really low,
and by the end I was home on home oxygen,
so I wasn't able to, yeah, to go out and
do fun things like this.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
Can we go back maybe three years ago, where so
you're my age of forty three, but back then you're
just over forty and you were not going to survive this,
were you?

Speaker 3 (01:48):
No, I didn't have long to live. I was waiting
for a heart transplant. I was on the transplant list,
which took a while. It takes a bit of time
and a lot of tests and interviews to get onto
a heart transplant list. But I was so sick and
just like waiting for that call, and it.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
Took sixteen days, which is actually not that long.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
How did it feel with.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Something like that, where obviously you get the call, which
is great for you, but knowing that somebody else has
lost their.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
Life, it was like bittersweet because I was so excited
to get that call that you know, I had a
second chance of life. Now I've got a heart coming, Like,
I was so excited, but then like devastated and really
upset that someone had lost a loved one, Like I
said a quick prayer and just really, you know, thought
about my donors family in that moment. I just wanted

(02:39):
to take that time to honor them. In the in
the craziness of that phone call and trying to get
to the airport, I did put some time aside to
just honor my donor and their family and what they
were going through.

Speaker 1 (02:54):
Yeah, Vanessa, two part question, Do you have any idea
where the heart came from?

Speaker 3 (02:58):
No, I don't. In Australia, you're not told. I don't
know much at all. But I was able to write
a letter, a thank you letter to the family. The
hospital sent the letter on and the family wrote back
this year.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
Oh my gosh, I didn't know that. What did they say?

Speaker 3 (03:16):
It was quite closed. They didn't share a lot of information.
So I still don't know. You know where my donor
was from, or how old she was, or I don't
know her name or anything. They didn't set up with me,
and that's okay. But I did find out that it
was a female's heart, so I do have a female's heart.

Speaker 1 (03:33):
The second part of the question, so I suppose you
can't really answer. But I've always wondered, if you get
a new heart or a new bit of someone else,
do you take on some of their traits? Or does
you do you now love cheesecake that you didn't love before?
Like what's happened?

Speaker 3 (03:47):
Yeah, great question. I get asked this all the time.
So the heart has muscle memory. I didn't even know
any of this, but the heart does have muscle memory.
I'm now craving different things. My interests are different the
same as my donors. Like I craze clinkers, clinkers, which
I hated. My whole cannot get enough of the green

(04:10):
grapes Vietnamese called rolls, mazzarine, the pizzas, freshly squeezed orange juice,
Macedonia nuts.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
They're cravings. What about you?

Speaker 3 (04:20):
Know?

Speaker 2 (04:21):
They say that you know you love with your heart?
Do you have any sense of feelings for other people
that you may not have met? Has anything changed like that?

Speaker 3 (04:30):
I guess I'm doing a lot more now because I
am well. So I'm you know, doing a lot of
physical activity and things like that that I haven't been
able to do. But I probably have a lot more compassion.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yeah, it hasn't changed who you love in your own family, Vanessa.

Speaker 1 (04:44):
You don't love them less.

Speaker 3 (04:45):
Now I did know. I think I love them more.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, she's so close to her parents, Vanessa. I can't
imagine a world without you in it. So I'm so
glad that you were able to have a new heart
and to see you dance on Friday night was just
amazing for everybody.

Speaker 3 (05:02):
Thank you so much. Just to be dancing with you
and Lauren, it's like a dream come true.

Speaker 1 (05:07):
Thank you say that every morning when I get to
see me every day sing and dance in my face,
it's a beautiful thing. Vana. Thank you.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
Guys. Okay, you've heard her story, which is so incredible,
but she's not the only one. Medical miracles happen every day.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
Yeah, we want to know from you thirty one O
two three. Has have you had something change about you
after a medical event?

Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yes? You know, you hear those people where they wake
up from a coma and they've got a different language
or do you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (05:38):
That person that was on sixty minutes or that time
ago and she woke up one day and had like
a Chinese accent.

Speaker 3 (05:44):
Yes,