Shelley Miller hadn’t paid too much attention to a nagging cough. After all, she was 23 and on top of the world. Then she went down the stairs of her apartment building to get her mail. Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe and she couldn’t make the climb back to the safety of her apartment. She saw her doctor who sent her for an x-ray. The news wasn’t good. Shelley had an enlarged heart, and it wasn’t going to get better. Her health deteriorated rapidly. One morning, she knew she had to get to Emergency. She was admitted to the QEII where she would live until a new heart could be found. Strangely enough, the treatment she received made her feel much better even though she was, in essence, dying.

“Everyone was so great. They got me a computer, I hung pictures to make it feel more like home and the doctors and nurses cheered me up.” Teams of specialists put her through rigorous tests to qualify her for transplantation. Shelley was fortunate enough to be a patient in one of the finest cardiac transplant centres in the world. Then the day arrived. Someone, who was kind enough to give the gift of life, died. And Shelley would have her new heart.
Shelley went home 16 days after receiving her new heart. Within two years, she had earned a Masters Degree. Shelley has recently celebrated the milestone of her 30th birthday. She still visits the Cardiac Catheterization lab once a year to measure how her heart is doing and is still overwhelmed by the compassion of the staff. “It’s tremendous,” says Shelley.