Central Florida heart transplant recipient, 65, to hike Appalachian Trail

ONE CITRA. FLORIDA MAN IS ON A MISSION THIS WEEKEND. 65 YEAR-OLD. TERRY MARKHAM IS GOING TO SET OUT ON A MONTHS LONG TRIP TO HIKE THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL. IT’S ALL TO SHOW HIS APPRECIATION FOR SECOND CHANCE AT LIFE AFTER A HEART TRANSPLANT. AND TERRY’S JOINING US TO TALK ALONGSIDE HIM. DOCTOR AHMAD ZEESHAN, SURGICAL DIRECTOR OF ADVENTHEALTH’S HEART TRANSPLANT PROGRAM. GOOD TO SEE YOU BOTH. THANK YOU. AND RIGHT HERE THIS MORNING WE HAVE SUCH A SPECIAL MOMENT BECAUSE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU TWO HAVE BEEN IN THE SAME SPACE SINCE THAT SURGERY IN 2020. EXACTLY. WOW. HOW IS THAT FEELING, TERRY? TO SEE THIS MAN, IT’S EMOTIONAL. YEAH, JUST I DIDN’T KNOW. I KNEW HE WAS GOING TO BE HERE, BUT I DIDN’T REALIZE HE HAD BEEN THE ONE WHO DID THE SURGERY. I MET THE SURGEON THE NIGHT BEFORE THE SURGERY, AND I JUST DIDN’T MAKE A CONNECTION WITH THE NAME UNTIL JUST WE WERE SITTING OUT THERE. ISN’T THAT WOW, HOW AND IN YOUR OPINION, TO SEE HIM DOES IT FEEL AND HOW IS HE LOOKING? HE’S LOOKING FANTASTIC. AND I THINK IT’S JUST HEARTWARMING. I SAW HIM WHEN HE WAS ASLEEP. I DID HIS SURGERY AND THEN SUBSEQUENTLY AFTERWARDS, BUT HE DID NOT KNOW THAT. AND NOW WE MEET SEVERAL YEARS LATER AND HE’S DOING SO WELL AND IT’S JUST FANTASTIC. I MEAN, REALLY A PICTURE OF HEALTH HERE TODAY. WHAT WAS IT THAT LED UP TO THIS HEART TRANSPLANT? THIS WAS WILL TAKE US BACK TO 2020. WELL, WHEN I TURNED 50, I HAD CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE. IT WAS A TOTAL SURPRISE TO ME BECAUSE I HAD NEVER BEEN SICK A DAY IN MY LIFE. GOT OVER THAT. 4 OR 5 YEARS LATER, I HAD A SECOND CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE. I GOT OVER THAT NOT QUITE AS WELL. THEN I HAD A THIRD ONE AND IT STARTED IN AUGUST, AND THAT ONE SIDELINED ME. I, YOU KNOW, YOU GET UP OUT OF YOUR RECLINER AND YOU CAN’T MAKE IT TO THE REFRIGERATOR UNTIL YOU’RE OUT OF BREATH. AND THAT’S WHEN I KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG. I HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL. AND THEY I WAS BEING TREATED. AND IT GOT TO THE POINT WHERE THEY WERE GOING TO SEND ME HOME FOR HOSPICE. WOW. AND I ASKED MY WIFE AND SOME VERY GOOD FRIENDS GOT ON THE PHONE AND STARTED MAKING CONNECTIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. I WAS FINALLY ADMITTED INTO ADVENT ORLANDO IN THE HEART TRANSPLANT AND DOCTOR WHAT WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR HIM TO GET INTO THAT PROGRAM AND SORT OF WHAT WAS HIS CONDITION LIKE WHEN THE HOSPITAL SAID, YES, WE WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE TRANSPLANT. SO HE WAS REALLY, REALLY SICK. AND HE WAS ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL AND HE WAS ON A TEMPORARY ASSIST DEVICE. AND MY INTRAVENOUS MEDICATION TO SUPPORT HIS HEART, TO KEEP HIM GOING UNTIL A DONOR ORGAN BECOMES AVAILABLE. HE COULD NOT BE DISCHARGED TO HE HAD TO BE IN THE HOSPITAL WITH ESSENTIALLY MECHANICAL SUPPORT. RIGHT. AND AS THE DONOR HEART BECAME AVAILABLE, WE DID HIS HEART TRANSPLANT. YEAH. TERRY, WE’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE THE JOURNEY AHEAD FOR YOU AS YOU’RE GOING TO GET OUT ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL. BUT TODAY, YOU WEAR SOMETHING AROUND YOUR NECK THAT THAT SYMBOLIZES WHAT THIS JOURNEY HAS, HAS REALLY MEANT. TELL US ABOUT THIS NECKLACE HERE, DYLAN. IT WAS MY DONOR, AND I ASKED HIS MOTHER. I GOT TO MEET THEM A FEW YEARS AGO. I ASKED HIS MOTHER. I SAID I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOMETHING OF DYLAN’S TO TAKE WITH ME. OBVIOUSLY, I HAVE HIS HEART, BUT I WANT SOMETHING AS A CONVERSATION CONVERSATION STARTER. SHE SENT THIS TO ME, BUT THE REALLY NEAT THING ABOUT IT WAS, AND I DON’T KNOW IF IT’S A SENIOR KEY OR WHAT, BUT BUT HE HE WAS STRUCK BY A CAR TWO WEEKS AFTER HE TURNED 18 YEARS OLD. HE HAD WRITTEN ON THE BACK OF THIS, I CAN AND I WILL, AND THAT’S THAT’S GONE WITH ME. YEAH. SO YOU’RE GOING TO HIKE THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL. IT’S GOING TO TAKE YOU A FEW MONTHS HERE. I’M PLANNING ON SIX. I’M HOPING FIVE. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WELL, WALKING IS NOW A BIG PART OF YOUR LIFE. YOU KNOW, IT’S IT’S PART OF THIS HEALTH JOURNEY THAT YOU’RE ON HERE. IT IS. ABSOLUTELY. AND I DIDN’T KNOW I WAS GOING TO GO IN THIS DIRECTION. I WAS JUST SITTING HOME ONE DAY AND I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO GO ON A HIKE. AND I JUST WENT ON A MILE AND A HALF HIKE, AND I THOUGHT I WAS REWARDED. AND I’M A LITTLE BIT FAR THE NEXT DAY. AND THEN IT JUST KEPT GROWING. WE LOVE THAT. AND THIS IS A BIG JOURNEY THAT YOU’RE GOING ON. TERRY. YOU KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF A HEART DONOR AND ORGAN DONATION. DOCTOR, WHAT’S YOUR MESSAGE FOR OUR VIEWERS WHO MAY BE THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, I MAY MAKE THE CHECK ON THE BACK OF MY, MY LICENSE THERE AND SAY, I’M GOING TO SAVE A LIFE. SO I THINK THAT IT’S AN INCREDIBLE AND A PRECIOUS GIFT, I THINK NOTHING MATCHES THIS. WHEN YOU GIVE THIS GIFT THE GIFT OF A SECOND LIFE OR SECOND CHANCE ON LIFE, AND THE DONOR GETS TO LIVE ON IN THE RECIPIENT AS WELL. SO IT’S IT’S JUST INDESCRIBABLY DESCRIBABLE, INCREDIBLE. IT’S JUST AMAZING. IT REALLY IS. LAST THING HERE WE’RE GOING TO BE FOLLOWING YOU ON SOCIAL MEDIA. THIS THIS HIKE, THIS BIG JOURNEY FOR YOU. ANYTHING THAT YOU YOU WANT OUR VIEWERS TO KNOW. I THINK THE BIGGEST THING IS THAT WHEN YOU GO THROUGH AN ORGAN TRANSPLANT OR ANY TYPE OF MAJOR SURGERY, SOMETIMES PEOPLE HAVE THE MISCONCEPTION OF, OKAY, I CAN EXIST NOW. NOW YOU CAN CONTINUE TO LIVE AND YOU CAN CONTINUE TO DO THE THINGS YOU WEREN’T CAPABLE OF DOING EARLIER. AND I JUST WANTED TO REALLY PROMOTE THAT. AND LIKE THE DOCTOR, I WANT TO PROMOTE ORGAN DONATION, BECAUSE IF I HADN’T BEEN FOR THOSE PEOPLE, CHECK THAT BOX, I WOULDN’T BE HERE TODAY. ALL RIGHT. ON THAT. WE’RE GOING TO END IT. COULDN’T HAVE SAID IT ANY BETTER. WE’RE ALSO GOING TO SHARE THIS INTERVIEW. IF YOU WANT TO PASS IT ALONG TO SOMEONE Y