Science and Miracles: Odyssey of a Heart Transplant

By Michael A. Piatak

Michael Piatak tells of his five-decade long odyssey of living with a ticking time bomb of a defective heart. A long-ago detected but undiagnosed anomaly followed him his whole life, culminating in the catastrophic event that nearly brought his existence to an end. With the trinity of science, faith, and his dogged determination, he succeeded in winning his battle for life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9781973698494

Michael A. Piatak

The author is a retired engineer, pilot and martial arts practitioner who devotes his time to teaching and community service. He continues to observe good health practices and is a student of life. He has been married to his wife Sue since 1980. Reach Michael at [e-mail]

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Copyright © 2023 Michael A. Piatak.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

844-714-3454

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

ISBN: 978-1-9736-9848-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-9849-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023909358

WestBow Press rev. date: 06/08/2023

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Chapter 1 Arena

Death Comes A-Calling

Chapter 2 Onset of Decline

Fitness & Fighting

Brain Trust

Designing a Life

Flying Unfriendly Skies

Two Become One

Professional Life

Two Kingdoms

Fighting & Fitness, Redux

Chapter 3 Cardiac Crises Interlude

Dramatic Decline

Chapter 4 3000 Days of the Dragon

Enter the Dragon

Grandmasters

Government Work

Meaningful Encounters and a Reunion

New Vocation

Meeting an Influential Man

The Fall of Michael 1.0

Chapter 5 ICU Days

Replacement Part

Unconscious World

Awakening

Chapter 6 RIM Time & Home

Ordeal

All Dogs Go to Heaven

Michigan winters

Staying Alive

Designing A Healthy Life

Chapter 7 HFH Cardiac Rehab Months

180 Critical Days

Due Consiglieres

More Losses

Ongoing Metrics & Biopsy Interludes

Making a Home for the Immigrant Heart

Brain Trust Meeting

Anniversary or Birthday?

Chapter 8 Day 365 & Beyond

Milestone

Renewed Sense of Life

Epilogue

Project Michael 2.0 Care Team

Suggestions For Further Reading

PRAISE FOR

Science and Miracles: Odyssey of a Heart Transplant

This is a truly uplifting account of the events leading up to and the trials of living through a heart transplant by someone who was perhaps slow to accept its inevitability but who embraced the circumstances, pain and suffering, and ensuing rehabilitation stoically.

Michael Piatak shows his understanding of the science behind his condition; his belief in a higher power; and the support of a talented medical team and family members, as he takes you through the months and years of his ordeal with exceptional candor.

His supportive wife and family and his prior focus on physical culture are two of the ways he was prepared to survive this encounter. And what does he do now that he has been given a second chance at life?

This book will benefit anyone experiencing a life changing event like this or for someone close to a survivor of a major medical crisis.

—Thomas Torma, Director of Administration (retired),

regional automotive supplier.

You think you get to know someone after greeting their cheerful visages every Wednesday morning at Zero Six Thirty. Mike led our Men’s Bible Study at that time, and over the course of several years I gained some insight into this man of Faith and knowledge. I was further blessed when we shared hotel accommodations as our parish representatives during a faith-based conference and learned even more about Mike—albeit indirectly—by serving with the formidable Sue in parish leadership roles. This book puts flesh to the man I thought I knew and does so with Mike’s characteristic potent dry wit and yarn-spinning skill. Not only did I learn that Mike is a survivor, I learned some fundamental attitudes required to thrive, primary among these is the paradoxical need to both take charge of your life and surrender. Without using so many words, Mike demonstrates a profound attitude of gratitude, proving the need for Hope when facing hopeless odds. Thanks, Mike!

—Juan Jay Balboa, retired US Navy Commander, former practitioner of Tae Kwon Do Ji Do Kwan (il dan), and fellow lover of dogs.

Life has adversities. Very few of us have struggled for years with heart issues like Mike Piatak has but, his book Science and Miracles conveys an uplifting journey of overcoming challenges that can apply to everyone.

Science and Miracles expresses the author’s will to live, his determination to do all that he must to survive and thrive. Science and Miracles colorfully paints a picture of his support group including his wife, Miss Sue, his closest friends the Brain Trust and, his doctors and nurses. When the Dragon was about to devour Mike, even when he was days away from death, through it all Mike trusted in the hope and peace of his deep, Catholic Faith.

I laughed, shuddered, cried, and felt great joy reading Science and Miracles. I recommend this book because it is a medically based story of hope, not just a word salad of medicalese.

—Van Rohr, Senior Account Manager WWJ

News radio 950 Detroit, Retired

DEDICATED TO

Miss Sue the lifesaver,

heart patients the world over; their care givers,

and the American health care industry, specifically

those heroic medical professionals that serve it.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many thanks to Sue Anne, John W. Piatak, Allan M. Darish, Allen C. Stortz, and Charles W. Clayton for their contributions to my musings in this book. Each of them corrected the record in several spots which indicates nobody has a perfect memory, and this especially applies to the author.

Also, eternal credit to my medical and spiritual caregivers during this protracted ordeal. They did yeoman work to restore my life in many ways beyond the physical.

Finally, to my editors, particularly John Bongort, who made this a readable work, many thanks.

FOREWORD

When it seems as though all hope is lost, it is not often that one is given a second chance at life. Despite the odds, some people are lucky enough to be born with a healthy body and mind. With this strong foundation, they stand a good chance of long-term survival, barring any unfortunate accidents. However, when one takes into consideration the miniscule odds of coming into existence in the first place given the randomness of conception, it is nothing short of a miracle. Such is the way of nature’s God.

What began with congestive heart failure (CHF) in February 2013 and end in a heart transplant August 20th, 2021, is an odyssey that had transformative power. At present writing, I marvel at the trip I took to get here, and I cannot stress enough my gratitude to both human and divine agencies. To have another chance at life presented an opportunity for a reboot of myself. A close friend and mentor, Beth Spizarny, has assigned St. Lazarus as my patron saint!

What was wrong or needed fixing with Michael 1.0? Plenty. Since I was a teenager, I had adopted a cynical attitude toward others that no doubt impeded my social development. My slogans were,

-Treat everybody the same: white, black, yellow. Be civil to everyone, courteous to nobody.

-Fortune favors the bold, the devil takes the hindmost.

Not good precepts for achieving social harmony. You will soon see where this got me.

Biographical information will be kept to a minimum. The development of chronic heart failure stems from my adolescent years, but it was not immediately apparent. Despite facing painful shingles in 1996 and near-lethal pneumonia in 2002, I was not prepared for the issues that would arise five years later when my heart became my main health concern. My world view and how it was vital to my long-term survival are also important to the narrative.

While this chronology spans five decades, the majority narrative is over the last fifteen years. As in typical autobiographies, most names are real individuals. There are only a few instances when pseudonyms are used.

Here is the outline of my heart transplant odyssey:

• Heart anomaly intimations, undetected, manifested in congenital cardiovascular performance noticed, 1972.

• Heart function abnormality detected during standard physical for airplane pilot training certificate, September 1978.

• Standard pacemaker installation February 15th, 2007, William Beaumont Hospital – Royal Oak, MI campus

• Open-heart surgical removal of 10mm fibroelastoma from atrial valve, May 18th, 2007.

• The first of life-threatening Sudden Cardiac Arrests (SCA) of which only 5% survive, February 2013. Pacemaker-defibrillator installed. Beginning of the 3000 day’s journey to transplant.

• Formally entered Henry Ford Health (HFH) transplant program January 15th, 2019.

• Began comprehensive testing for transplant eligibility -July 15th, 2020.

• Collapsed at HFH West Bloomfield after CT scan July 29th, 2021.

• Transferred to HFH Main for lead replacement. Discharged after successful procedure.

• The second SCA occurs at home – EMS to Beaumont August 9th, 2021.

• Seven pacemaker-defibrillator events – resulting in intubation.

• Transferred to HFH Main August 11th, 2021.

• Advanced ventilator intervention while awaiting heart, August 16th, 2021.

• Approved for transplant.

• Heart for transplant identified.

• Heart Transplant surgery –August 20th, 2021

• Post-Transplant cardiac intensive critical care management. Sedated and unconscious for three weeks.

• Awakened in intensive care unit (ICU) September 6th, 2021intubated. Had IVs for drugs, chest tubes for drainage, and dialysis catheters.

• Immobilized and mute due to muscle deconditioning and intubation, respectively.

• Discharged from HFH transferred to rehab clinic October 16th, 2021.

• Discharged from rehab clinic November 24th, 2021.

• Year 1 transplant protocols followed post discharge for blood tests, visits, and heart catheterizations.

• Post-discharge weekly home care nursing and PT for one month January 2022

• Cardiac rehab at HFH twice weekly 8 February 8th, 2022, to August 30th, 2022, 26 weeks

• First birthday celebration as Michael 2.0, August 20th, 2022.

I was fortunate to join a tiny minority of truly blessed people who got a second chance at life. Eternal gratitude to the care team, and the donor family with whom I may have the privilege of meeting one day.

Consider the size of the heart transplant community in the United States since the days of pioneering surgeons Christian Barnard (first heart transplant, 1967) and Michael DeBakey (development of the heart bypass pump, 1966). Rough estimates indicate that the cohort has grown to approximately 28,000 recipients since 1975. How many of the recipients are still living is anybody’s guess. However, my first cardiologist informed me in 2022 that one of her patients passed away after living 29 years with a transplanted heart, indicating the operation dated to only 1993.

Going from my prior life, the 1.0 version of Michael to 2.0 via transplant, was a daunting experience that covered years and decades that I liken to America’s Project Apollo where, on August 20th, 2021, I could also say the Eagle has landed

ONE

ARENA

Arena_rev_1.jpg

Death Comes A-Calling

Once again, I was in a desperate battle with the same opponent determined to take my life. It was July 2021, and he attacked but I managed to dodge and evade him, all the while knowing that I could not strike back and defeat him.

His name is Death, and none of us can ever escape him, only delay him for a while. I had to wonder what form this Death took, and I concluded that in the arena of life, Death was a gladiator or warrior. This was not the first time I had encountered him.

Back in 2013, I suddenly suffered from a runaway ventricular tachycardia (v-tach) and a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) at home, raising my heart rate to an unbelievable 280 bpm. My wife of 32 years, Miss Sue, quickly helped me into the car and drove me to William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI. There, they stabilized me, and I left the hospital with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implanted in my chest. This was an upgrade from the pacemaker I had had since 2007 when I initially experienced heart block.

During the 8-year period from 2013 to 2021, I was extremely cautious of any signs of physical and mental deterioration. The dreams and nightmares I experienced all seemed to point to some terrible event in the future. This can best be described as a dragon, which the Bible mentions 35 times, a symbol of Evil that causes terror among humans. This foe can only be defeated by the Archangels, not by any human action.

This event made me realize what was in store for my future: a heart transplant. Even though this was a drastic solution to the problem that was growing more intense by the day, I still rejected the idea and thought I could somehow improve my heart’s performance to the point that I could live a limited life. This shows how deep in denial I was.

I then took on my professional role as an engineer and treated my heart as an electromechanical, biological