December 22, 1999
One year later: Young recipient of Christmas Eve heart transplant doing well
By last year at this time, young Nicole Ehli of Puyallup had spent two long months at University of Washington Medical Center, hospitalized as she waited for a donor heart.
Nicole’s wait ended last Christmas Eve, when a donor heart became available. In a seven-hour surgery, Dr. Edward Verrier and his surgical team removed her heart, damaged years earlier by an infection, and replaced it with the best Christmas gift imaginable: a healthy new heart and a new lease on life. The story received widespread media coverage over the 1998 Christmas weekend.
Just two weeks after surgery, Nicole, barely 18 at the time, was well enough to return home to the care of her parents, Don and Dolores Ehli. By the first of April, she was able to return to Franklin Pierce High School, where she is a senior who hopes to find a job working with animals after she graduates.
She goes frequently to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma to have blood drawn, which is sent to UW Medical Center to be analyzed to make sure she’s not experiencing any symptoms of rejection of the new heart. She visits the UW only about every three months. “Her heart is working very well,” said her surgeon, Verrier.
A few weeks ago, Nicole attended the Heart Transplant Support Group’s holiday party, along with scores of other heart transplant patients and medical staff involved in transplantation.
“It was neat to see people who had their heart transplant eight or 10 years ago and are doing fine,” said her father. “It really gives us hope for the future.”
In a bid to raise awareness of organ donation, Don Ehli has contacted the organizers of the Academy Awards, hoping to arrange for distribution of green ribbons, emblematic of organ and tissue donation, to the celebrity presenters.
“Last Christmas was wonderful because Nicole received her new heart,” said her mother. “This one is even better, because we’ll have her at home with us. We are so thankful to the unknown person who was her organ donor. Without this gift of life, Nicole would not have had this chance.”
UW Medical Center has performed 285 heart transplants since 1985. Currently, 57 patients are on the waiting list for a heart transplant at the UW, including six whose conditions require them to be hospitalized.
As of Dec. 5, there were 67 people waiting for a heart transplant in Washington, and a total of 4,126 across the nation.
For information on organ donation, call Life Center Northwest at (206) 230-5767.
