London London. The first thing former NBA player and “Survivor” contestant Scott Pollard did after getting a heart transplant was write down his feelings while they were fresh, in hopes of someday sharing them with the donor's family. “We want you to know that your loved one's heart will be loved and cared for and will love back,” Pollard said in a letter, which was sent through the transplant network to the hospital where the heart was removed. “Your loved one is our hero.”
Last week, Pollard received a reply: The donor's family was ready to meet. “I read the letter twice and it was hard because I had tears in my eyes the whole time,” Pollard told The Associated Press on Monday. “I already knew that someone's life was cut short. And so, you know, the emotions are mixed. Like getting a heart for the first time: I went through a huge period of guilt because I knew that my To live one must die.”
Pollard, an 11-year NBA veteran and member of the 2008 champion Boston Celtics, inherited the disease from his father, who died at the age of 54 when Scott was 16. Scott Pollard had known for a few years that his only solution was a heart transplant, but finding a donated organ large enough to pump blood through the 6-foot-11-inch, 260-pound former NBA center was a challenge. In February, doctors found a match, and the transplant at Vanderbilt University Medical Center was successful. Afterward, Pollard told the AP, he learned that his own heart “was damaged.”
Comments are closed.