Positivity: Change of Heart

From Eutawville, South Carolina:

Monday, December 21, 2009

It’s been quite a year for a Eutawville man who almost didn’t live to see this Christmas.

While taking a lunch break at his home back on Feb. 18, Karl Parker became ill. He urged his wife to call 911; then he collapsed.

That’s all Parker remembers about his heart attack 10 months ago.

His wife of five years, To Ngan – affectionately nicknamed “Angel” by Parker – recalls that her husband lie motionless in their living room. Nearly nine months pregnant with their son, Kaleb, she frantically called 911.

Angel alerted neighbors Gene and Judy Scott that Karl had collapsed and was unresponsive. Within moments, Parker’s sister, Lynn Behr, and “the whole neighborhood” were at the scene, he said.

In such rural community, it seemed unlikely emergency responders would make it to the scene within the narrow window of time necessary to save a person in cardiac arrest.

Parker said it was nothing short of a miracle when his neighbor, Gary Wolpert, who volunteers as a firefighter and first responder with the Eutawville Fire Department, happened to drive by and notice the excitement.

Wolpert stopped to help and shocked Parker three times with the fire department’s portable defibrillator before his pulse returned.

Wolpert’s daughter, Amanda, who also serves as a volunteer firefighter, assisted in resuscitation efforts before an ambulance arrived to transport Parker to the Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg.

Parker soon slipped into a coma and was flown by helicopter to Providence Hospital in Columbia, where he underwent treatment for a blocked aorta and a failing heart.

He was in a coma for six days, unaware his wife had given birth to Kaleb at Roper/St. Francis Hospital in Charleston on Feb. 22. Two weeks passed before Parker met his newborn son.

Parker underwent evaluations at the Medical University of South Carolina and Duke University, but his heart continued to deteriorate.

Between April and October, he spent a cumulative six weeks at home. The rest of the time he was undergoing treatments in the hospital.

He attempted to handle simple, everyday tasks, such as retrieving mail from the mailbox at the end of their short driveway, but his shortness of breath increased and his heart wasn’t getting any better.

Some passersby noticed the Parkers had placed a chair by the mailbox and inquired about it. The chair was there so he could take a rest after removing the mail from the box before walking the few yards back to the house, Parker said.

Physicians at Duke placed Parker on the heart transplant list on Aug. 20.

On Oct. 2, he received the phone call he’d been waiting for – Duke had a heart ready for him and he needed to be there within five hours.

When he arrived, surgeons prepped him for the transplant, and for eight hours, he was sedated. But when he awoke – disappointment.

Surgeons called off the surgery at the last minute because Parker’s sodium, potassium and vital signs weren’t stable enough for him to undergo surgery.

Parker said doctors had already told him he “didn’t have much time” without a heart transplant.

About two weeks later, on Oct. 25, he received another call from Duke.

This time, it happened.

This time, he had a change of heart.

His first thoughts after waking up from the surgery were, “Hallelujah! Amen!” Parker said.

“Within 36 hours I could tell a difference,” he said, “and they had me up and walking, too.”

He and his family remained in Durham, N.C. for a month so he could undergo close observation and monitoring of how his body reacted and adjusted to his new heart.

The day before Thanksgiving, Parker’s doctors gave him the green light to return home.

Since he’s been home, he’s been following doctors’ orders. His strength has increased, and he feels like a new person.

“I tell everybody I’ve had a change of heart in more ways than one,” he says, smiling.

Before Feb. 18, Parker had thought he had control of his life. Now he’s convinced the best life is only found in Jesus Christ.

“My spiritual life is the biggest part of my change,” he said.

Prior to his heart attack, he was “going down the wrong path” and was self-serving and drinking alcohol too much, Parker said.

He’s no longer drinking and is now “totally committed to God and family,” he said.

Go here for the rest of the story.