ROCKFORD — Rick Olson carries a laminated photo of a woman he has never met in his wallet. His wife of nearly 52 years doesn't mind because in his chest Olson carries that young woman's heart.
Valentine's Day is also National Donor Day, but Olson is happy to tell the story of his new heart any day of the year.
Olson, 70, of Rockford was walking his dog in November 2011 when a major heart attack left him lying on the sidewalk, and the left side of his heart 90 percent idle. Originally under the impression it was just a few bruises, a week later he was transported to UW Health in Madison,Wisconsin, and prepped for surgery.
"At that particular time, they had called my family in because it was a bad heart attack and they didn't think I would make it to Madison," he said.
Three days later Olson received a left ventricular assist device. It's a battery-operated pump that helps the left ventricle, the main pumping part of the heart, get blood to the rest of the body.
The pump would keep Olson alive until a donor heart came along.
"It's like having a computer strapped on our waist," he said. "But it kept my heart alive."
A year later the hospital called and asked Olson and his wife, Joyce, to get to Madison as quickly as possible. A car accident had taken the life of a young woman, Amy, and she was a registered donor. Her heart was a match. Medical privacy laws prevented the hospital from telling Olson any more about the donor for three years.
“When you sit back and think of that family that had to lose somebody in order for a heart to be available, my heart just aches for them,” Joyce said. “This entire experience just makes you so grateful. Every day I wake up and I thank God for another day with him.”
Rick was just one of the people who benefited from Amy’s donations. Her vital organs, as well ask skin tissue were donated. According to the American Transplant Foundation, one organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people, and with eye and tissue donation, enhance the lives of 100 people.
“Organ donation is so important,” said Therese Michels, communications manager for Gift ofHope, an organ and tissue donor network for northern Illinois. “In Illinois alone there are nearly 5,000 people waiting for an organ transplant. We have so many people on the waiting list because there is always a need.”
Rick got a phone call from Amy’s husband when the medical privacy restriction expired. He invited Rick and Joyce to Madison for the Capital City 5K run, which raises money and awareness for organ, tissue and eye donation, and allows recipients to run or walk with their donor’s family members.
“I walked it, I wasn’t ready to run it,” Rick said. “But he showed us a lot of pictures of them, and we learned about her. He said he was just glad part of her lived on.”
Today, Rick is in perfect health and spends most of his time volunteering at his church or children’s groups in the area, as well as spending time with his grandchildren.
“Wherever I go, I tell people this story,” he said. “The more people understand donations, it’s like, if you’ve got a good organ, why not? It’s not like you can just go out and find a heart any day of the week.”
— Kayli Plotner: 815-987-1391; kplotner@rrstar.com; @kayplot