Eden's Story
Heart Transplant Recipient Reaching Goals
Eden, a heart transplant patient at Burke Rehabilitation, had a personal goal when he was admitted, to get back on his feet and back to his life. The 57-year-old is on that journey of recovery working diligently with his medical team and therapists.
“I haven’t been walking. I’ve been in a wheelchair for quite a few years and my goal was to walk independently,” said Eden after a recent therapy session. “I’ve made a dramatic improvement.”
Eden is reaching his goals, even climbing stairs. His story of resilience goes back three decades when he was diagnosed with cancer and as a result had an amputation of his right leg above the knee. Rounds of chemotherapy caused Cardiomyopathy, a weakening of Eden’s heart muscles. He did not have the stamina to use a prosthetic device and then experienced heart failure this past November.
He had successful heart transplant surgery at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx in December and then started rehabilitation at Burke in mid-January.
“Eden’s walking ability and strength has remarkably improved during his stay at Burke Rehabilitation’s cardiopulmonary rehabilitation unit,” said Dr. Nomeda Balcetis, the Medical Director of Inpatient Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Program at Burke. “He can walk household distances independently now. He is always motivated, has a positive attitude and ready to climb the next mountain. Upon discharge, Eden will pursue outpatient cardiac rehabilitation to enhance the gains he already made.”
When Eden started his therapy, he said lifting a bottle of water felt too heavy and now he wants to challenge himself. Looking back on his journey, he noted, “I’m still here because I don’t give up. When I took my first few steps, at Burke, I could not breathe and now I go outside in the hall and I’m doing more than before.” In fact, he recently walked 100 steps with the assistance of a walker.
His physical therapist Mark Gumpal, DPT, recognized Eden’s accomplishments. “After being non-ambulatory and wheelchair bound for many years, he initially was only able to take two steps with a lot of assistance with his new above the knee prosthetic leg. Physical therapy’s objective was to build a strong foundation by improving dynamic standing balance skill, functional endurance and proper gait technique with emphasis on weight shifting, pelvic mobility and proprioception, the ability for him to sense his body position.”
Eden looks forward to returning home and spending time outdoors with family and friends. He is contemplating cooking again and perhaps even swimming. His advice for anyone going through similar circumstances is to “never give up.”
