WWW arkcity.net

Courtesy Photo click image to enlarge

Follow Tyler Groom's progress
www.caringbridge.com/visit/tylergroom

By TYLER GASKILL
Courier Staff Writer

It was a late night Tuesday for the family and friends of Winfield teen Tyler Groom, who was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy in June.

What started out as a day that would include a procedure to install a device to help the 17-year-old Winfield High School senior's heart beat turned into the day Tyler's friends and family have been waiting for. The day Tyler would get a new heart.

With continual updates on Tyler's CaringBridge online journal (http://www.caringbridge.com/visit/tylergroom), friends and family in Winfield were able to follow his progress. Tyler's parents, Tammy and Alan, along with his brother, Luke, were with Tyler at the hospital.

A change of plans

Tyler was scheduled to go in for surgery Tuesday at Integris Baptist Hospital in Oklahoma City to have a BiVAD (Biventricular Assist Device) installed. A BiVAD is a device used to assist failing right and left ventricles, according to medfamily.org.

"They took him in to have that BiVAD put in, and the doctors came in and said that they were within two minutes of putting it in and they got a call that they had an excellent heart for Tyler," said family friend, Traci Wedd, Tuesday afternoon.

An organ harvest crew was with the organ at that time, and cardiologists still needed to check the heart to make sure it would work for Tyler, Wedd said.

Since Tyler's doctors were still unsure if the heart would be a match, they kept him in a medically induced coma. If the heart wasn't a match, they would go on with the installation of the BiVAD, Wedd said.

"It's something else that this can happen within a matter of minutes. Tyler went to sleep today thinking he would get that BiVAD put in, and hopefully he will wake up with a new heart," Wedd said Tuesday afternoon.

A doctor from Oklahoma City flew to the location of the donor organ to evaluate the heart and see if it will be a good match for Tyler. At this point, it still wasn't a sure thing that Tyler would be getting a new heart.

"There typically is no news until the heart is back on the plane with the surgeon," Wedd said on Tyler's CaringBridge journal at 4:19 p.m. Tuesday. Just 11 minutes later, the news that everyone had been waiting for was posted in all caps with a bright pink background: "TYLER GROOM GETS A NEW HEART!"

Tyler went into surgery just before 6 p.m., and his new heart arrived at the hospital at 7:30.

At 7:45, a nurse came out with pictures of Tyler's heart. "It was, of course, much larger than it should have been," Wedd said.

During surgery, Tyler's body was cooled to slow down his body's processes and he was placed on a machine that pumped his blood for him while surgeons replaced his heart with the donor heart. The surgery was over by 9:15 or 9:30 Tuesday night, Wedd said.

A perfect transplant

Shortly after surgery, Tyler's heart beat was strong and he was back in his room with his family. His heart rate was 114 beats per minute and his blood pressure was 108/70. He was still on a ventilator, as his sedation from the surgery hadn't yet worn off, according to Wedd.

"The medical staff is very happy with how everything looks," said Wedd.

"I really wish that everyone could be here to see this family. This has truly been a miracle today."

Just before 10:40 p.m., Wedd was able to listen to Tyler's new heart.

"I dont think that I have ever heard anything so beautiful in my life," Wedd said of Tyler's heartbeat.

At 10:42, Tyler woke up briefly and acknowledged that he could hear his parents talking to him. He went back to sleep until after 1 this morning, when he first found out that he had a new heart.

"Alan and Luke told Ty that he was out of surgery and that when he went to surgery, they stopped the surgery because they had a call with a heart," Wedd said.

"His eyes opened big. Luke said 'You have a new heart!'"

Tyler motioned that he wanted something to write on, since he still had a breathing tube in and couldn't talk.

According to Wedd, he wrote two words down on the slip of paper: "Thank God."

There wasn't a dry eye in the room, Wedd said.

At 4 this morning, Tyler was awake and watching ESPN. He was not in any pain, Wedd reported on the CaringBridge journal.

In the most recent update, made at 8:03 this morning, Tyler was awake and alert. His breathing tube had been removed and he is now able to talk.

"(Tyler is) very excited about his new heart," Wedd said in the journal entry.

"All of the medical staff has been in to see him and they are all jumping for joy, stating this was a perfect transplant."

The road to recovery

Doctors are still not sure how long it will be until Tyler can return to his normal schedule, including his senior year at Winfield High School.

"That's something they're going to go over with the transplant surgeons," Wedd said. "They're going to try and figure out how long he has to stay down here."

Once released from Integris Baptist, Tyler will continue to need biopsies on his heart regularly to ensure that his body isn't rejecting the donor organ, Wedd said over the phone this morning.

Doctors are, however, optimistic about Tyler's condition thus far.

"Out of all of the heart transplants they have ever seen, Tyler's numbers were perfect," Wedd said. "They don't usually see that."

A benefit dinner and silent auction is scheduled to help the Groom family with medical expenses. The event will be held Saturday, Aug. 30, at 6 p.m. at Baden Square. To RSVP, send an e-mail to katie_eastman@hotmail.com.

Donations to the Grooms can also be made through an account at Community National Bank at 800 Main Place. Checks can be sent by mail to P.O. Box 637, Winfield, KS 67156, ATTN: Tammy Cooley.

Benefit dinner planned

A benefit dinner and silent auction is scheduled to help the Groom family with medical expenses. The event will be held 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30 at Baden Square. To RSVP, send an e-mail to katie_eastman@hotmail.com.

Donations to the Grooms can also be made through an account at Community National Bank at 800 Main Place.

Checks can be sent by mail to P.O. Box 637, Winfield, KS 67156, ATTN: Tammy Cooley.

Above: Tyler Groom