I just want to give my testimony. The Bible tells us we are overcomers by the word of our testimonies. My name is Austin. I was a 17-year-old high school student in 11th grade when a disease I’d been born with hit me hard. My disease was called Cardiomyopathy, and it’s where the left side of the heart doesn’t work or pump like it should. My left side was massive. So, on October 8th, 2015, I went to my doctor and he diagnosed me with Pneumonia, and I was hospitalized for 2 days before I was transferred to another Savannah Memorial Hospital. When I got there, the doctor came into my room and asked me a few questions, but the main questions were “How are you alert? “How are you talking to me?” My response was “I’m not sure what you mean.” He then told me that my heart was only beating between 5-9%. The teen heart is supposed to pump between 30-40% at the least.
So, I stayed in Memorial hospital for a little over a month. I remember it was a Monday that I got sent to the upper floor and was finally moved from ICU. But after another EKG, I was sent back to ICU. They found a blood clot the size of a quarter on the bottom of my heart. They tried to get it to shrink with meds, but sadly it didn’t work. Then I walked to the end of the hall and on my way back the blood clot moved. I started to hit the ground. This big guy picked me up and put me in my bed and they rushed me into surgery!! They started to work on me, and I almost coded. They got me under control, got me back in my room, and I settled down. The doctors told me that the blood clot broke into tiny pieces! The blood clot didn’t touch anything in my heart!
Soon after, they had to send me up to Egleston Children’s Hospital in Atlanta. I got there a few days before Thanksgiving. I hadn’t eaten for a month and a half because I couldn’t keep anything down, but I told my mother on Thanksgiving that I was going to eat and keep it down. I love my honey ham!! I was able to eat and keep it down. I remember staying in Egleston Children’s Hospital for Thanksgiving, my birthday, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve!! One day the doctor came in and talked to me and my mother. They told us about this machine called the lvad. I was basically their guinea pig for it, but the doctor told me that if they didn’t use this machine, I would die in weeks. At 17-years-old you wouldn’t want to hear that. I cried and told them to get out. I told my mom I didn’t want to die and that I wasn’t ready. Soon after that, I settled down and we told them that I would take this lvad so it would give me extra months to years to live. I remember getting it and I came home soon after New Year’s Eve.
On January 21st, my mom and I were at the Social Security office doing paperwork and my phone rang and it was a “404” number. I told my mom that someone kept calling me. I answered it and the doctors said, “Austin, we have a heart for you!” That was a shock!! We rushed to the hospital and it was late at night when we arrived. It was a 14 hour surgery, because something bad happened with my IV, which caused them to have to operate on my arm as well. I woke up with a new heart, but I also woke up with my arm all scarred up! I was scared at first, but then I remembered that my Lord and Savior has scars also!! I went home 12 days after getting my new heart!! I now have a wonderful wife and a five year old. I’m blessed!! We love watching QQT. I recently gave my life back to the Lord!
