New Heart, New Me

Creating something beautiful from a lump of clay. It’s not as easy as it sounds. It takes steady hands, concentration and the ability to visualize what could be. It was a combination Kari Gray didn’t have a year ago. Now, the 20-year old Johnson County Community College freshman is feeling creative and adventuresome, thanks to a new heart and a new lease on life.

Kari was a freshman at Shawnee Mission North High School when her problems began. She had just finished working on the spring play and was dreaming of getting her driver’s license when it happened. Like millions of teenagers, Kari caught the flu. Only instead of recovering in a few days, Kari couldn’t seem to get well. The flu virus attacked her heart, causing congestive heart failure.

During the next three years Kari was in-and-out of Children’s Mercy Hospital. Her heart kept retaining fluids making Kari weak. Every day was a struggle, but she persevered. Kari was runner-up to the homecoming queen, she worked part time and graduated from Shawnee Mission North with a B average. She even became a counselor at a summer camp sponsored by Children’s Mercy Hospital, specifically for kids with heart defects.

Kari enrolled at Johnson County Community College (JCCC) during the fall of 1997, but she had to drop out when her condition worsened. Because Kari had turned 19 and her heart was deteriorating, doctors at St. Luke’s Hospital took over her case. They told Kari’s parents that a heart transplant would be a last resort, but they should prepare for the possibility. Kari’s parents began reading everything they could find about heart transplants. They found dozens of books and pamphlets published by the American Heart Association. Kari’s mother Jan remembers, "The information was crucial for our peace of mind. It was open, honest and written in terms we could understand. It told us what to expect and what questions we should be asking the doctors."

St. Luke’s heart specialists gave her a beeper and put Kari on the transplant waiting list. On March 21, 1998, Kari’s beeper went off. A match had been found. The heart operation lasted about two hours. During the transplant, Kari was on a heart-lung machine developed through a research grant from the American Heart Association. Since the operation, Kari hasn’t had any problems, thanks in part to anti-rejection drugs perfected through another American Heart Association research grant.

Now, Kari is feeling great. She’s doing things she couldn’t do before. She’s jogging, playing volleyball, riding the Mamba at Worlds of Fun and making pottery. "It’s awesome. I forgot what it felt like to feel so good. Instead of worrying about my heart and feeling that pounding in my chest, I’m thinking about my future. I’m considering the Interpreter Training program here at JCCC."

Fortunately, her mother’s health insurance at Bayer Corporation has covered nearly all of Kari’s medical expenses. But Kari and Jan both realize that the insurance wouldn’t matter without advances in heart research and the skilled doctors at Children’s Mercy and St. Luke’s Hospitals.