A Mother's Heart - Stephanie Groce's Heart Transplant Story

Every day hundreds of Americans lie in hospital beds, often in isolation, waiting for donor transplant organs. These patients often survive with the use of high-tech medical equipment fulfilling the biological duties of diseased organs. The waiting period for transplant organs can be anywhere from a few days to years. The anxiety and anticipation can be overwhelming for the patients and their families as they hold on to the hope that life will continue thanks to the generosity of a grieving family.

Stephanie Groce of McKinney, Texas, experienced this ordeal with a unique twist. On Jan. 21, 2003, after a year of living in a hospital tethered to life by a 20-foot electrical chord, separated from her newborn child and husband, 21-year-old Stephanie Groce received a donor heart making it possible for her to do what she had been planning to do all her life; parent a child.

Groce's pregnancy began like any other with the usual morning sickness and fatigue. As the months progressed, however, she developed significant shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, and nausea. She had become so weak her husband, Stephen Groce, often carried her to their apartment. Despite her symptoms, Groce continued to teach at Holy Family School in McKinney where she had worked since high school graduation.

Frustrated by the lack of a clear diagnosis, Groce made many visits to local labor and delivery facilities in order for doctors to monitor her symptoms. It wasn't until the 34^th week of pregnancy doctors tested her for a rare, pregnancy-related heart condition. "When the doctor returned to tell my family the diagnosis, he was white as a sheet. He said he'd only seen this once in 17 years," says Groce.

Groce was diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy, a rare pregnancy-related heart condition with unknown causes in which the heart becomes enlarged and loses function. It is estimated to occur in 1 case per 1300-15,000 live births. In most cases, pregnant women are prescribed a variety of medications and their hearts heal within weeks of delivery allowing them to return to normal life.

This wasn't the case for Groce, however. Her heart was working far below normal efficiency and the situation was dire for both mother and child. Five weeks before her due date, Groce underwent an emergency cesarean in order to save her premature child. Baby Hannah was healthy despite the dangerous pregnancy. Confident Groce's heart function would return to normal, doctors sent her home with several heart-healing medications, her newborn daughter and hopes for a healthy future.

"Within six days of returning home, my condition was much worse. The volunteer who was helping me checked my vitals and insisted on calling the paramedics. She saved my life. I had 15 liters of fluid in my lungs. The paramedics were surprised I was still alive," recalls Groce.

A few weeks later doctors implanted an artificial pump called an LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Device) in her abdomen to alleviate the stress on her ever-weakening heart. Groce spent the next year at St. Paul University Hospital in Dallas waiting for a donor heart. With her parents by her side, her daughter in the care of her mother-in-law and her husband making daily trips from McKinney to the Dallas, Groce struggled with the emotional conflict of needing a donor heart and the knowledge someone had to die in order for her to live.

"It is by the grace of God I'm still alive. I was a bionic woman with a titanium pump in my abdomen. I was plugged into an electrical outlet by a 20-foot chord. I desperately wanted to be with my little girl. She was my inspiration and I had to survive," recalls Groce.

On January 21, 2003, doctors found a suitable donor heart. Twenty-four hours later, Groce's friends and family celebrated the successful six and a half hour surgery.

"We just did what we had to do," says husband Stephen Groce. "I was working for McKinney Lumber at the time and they were very supportive and understanding. It was a tough road, but Stephanie got us through it."

"Her faith and her attitude have gotten all of us through this. She never complains," comments Groce's mother, June Pope. "This is all God's grace. I thank god for every day we have together."

Life for Groce is as normal as it can be under the circumstances. In order to prevent her body from rejecting her new heart, she takes daily doses of a myriad of medications. The result is a highly weakened immune system requiring extra precautions just to survive day-to-day life. Groce works diligently to keep her health issues from negatively impacting her daughter's life and she continues to work part-time as a substitute teacher at the Holy Family School while spreading the message about the importance of life-saving organ donation programs.

"I have a stranger's heart beating in my chest and I am forever grateful for his life-giving generosity. I went home about a month after the transplant as a brand new mommy to a one-year-old child," says Groce. "Hannah is perfect. Every day with her and Stephen is a gift. I almost forget about my illness."

For more information on organ donations and the Stephanie Groce Fund, please visit The National Transplant Assistance Fund at http://www.transplantfund.org.