It was 5:00 p.m. Thursday the first day of March 2012. It was St. David’s Day, and for all Welshmen an extremely special day of the year. Saint David, or Dewi Sant, as he is known in the Welsh language, is the patron saint of Wales. Now I sat in my office at home propped up in a wheelchair, I had made it to yet another milestone in my two and a half year quest to stay alive. I wondered if I would make it to the next one I had set, I doubted it and had to a large extent resigned myself to my coming demise; no I was almost looking forward to it. The phone rang and the caller ID said Duke 919………..

“Hello….. Mr. Carden?”

“Yes”.

“This is Melissa from Duke Transplant, we have a heart for you. How quickly can you get to Duke Hospital?”