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Give the gift of a new heart for a retired Police Officer, Ex-Firefighter and Air Force Veteran in desperate need of a heart transplant.

In 2006, my dad had his first heart attack at the age of 35 while on duty as an Undercover Police Detective. Since that day, My family and I have learned the true test of heart disease and heart failure; following 20 heart attacks, one occipital stroke that took half of his vision, two implantable defibrillators/pacemakers, 23 shocks from the defibrillators, and multiple surgeries to buy us more time to find a solution for his steadily weakening heart. My dad has always stayed active and has come back from every set back that his heart challenges him with, and now its my turn to return a kindness and help him get a new heart to make him stronger. For my little brother, Lukas who is 12 years old; for myself, Nicole to see my father around long enough to have grandchildren, for our family to share life and laughter with; and for his friends, who he would lay his own life down for.

Updates (43)

January 23, 2023

Jan. 20, 2023: It’s not everyday you get to meet your heart! Today we visited Dad’s “original” heart; the Heart-to-Heart program at Baylor University Medical Center Dallas allows patients, who are willing, to meet and say goodbye to their heart after its removal for transplant in order to learn more about the damage it sustained during their lifetime.

We met with Dr. William Roberts (the longest tenured cardiologist at Baylor) and his Clinical Coordinator, Saba, to learn more about what kind of damage Dad’s heart had undergone. Dr. Roberts claimed he had never witnessed such a scarred heart during his time studying extracted hearts before. The heart was so thin in places that you could visibly see through membranous tissue. As estimated, Dad’s ejection fraction was about 10% at the time of its removal (compared to the average 50-75% of most adults); combined with the immense scarring from so many cardiac events and attacks, the heart itself looked to be incredibly enlarged (the average heart is the size of a fist, his appeared to be 3x that size.)

It is a testament to Dad’s strength that his heart held on by literal fibers until the time of transplant called. How he lasted so long with such intense damage we will never know; other than by sheer force of will to live. It is also a reminder of how important taking care of your body is; not only for your health but for your longevity.

We want to thank the staff at BUMC, as well as Shannon Murray and Good Morning Fox 4 for sending their cameraman, David, to cover their upcoming story on this amazing experience we all shared today! We are excited to share the behind the scenes coverage and how special it truly was.

January 23, 2023

Jan. 12, 2023: DIVE! DIVE! DIVE! Dad completed his 1st hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) treatment today at R3 Wound Care and Hyperbarics; HBOT dives are a great way to aide the wound healing process; using increased atmospheric pressure and 100% oxygen levels, each session is about 2 hours long and he can relax and enjoy Netflix in the giant, acrylic chamber while the simulated pressure (equivalent to being about 33 feet under water) helps bring more oxygen to his tissues.

This is something that we greatly need, to help his wound healing along more to get him to cardiac rehab sooner rather than later.

Photo Galleries (6)

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Guestbook

December 29, 2023

God bless you Kevin.

Cheri Wheeler

March 13, 2023

I spoke to your daughter this past Christmas in Plano. I am a board member for America\'s Defenders Foundation and have something I\'d like to share with you. If you could please contact me.
[email protected]

Andrew Leonard

October 25, 2022

God Bless your journey Kevin

Glenn Forc