DONATE
DONATE LIFE MONTH. ONCE AGAIN, KTVB IS
PARTNERING WITH "YES IDAHO" TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT
ORGAN, EYE AND TISSUE
DONATION BY BRINGING
YOU STORIES OF THOSE
AFFECTED BY ORGAN
DONATION.
WITH CORONAVIRUS
CONCERNS, WE DIDN'T
WANT TO PUT ORGAN
RECIPIENTS AT RISK BY
MEETING
MEETING UP WITH THEM IN PERSON, SO WE DIPPED INTO THE ARCHIVES FOR A
STORY THAT REALLY
TOUCHED US.
RICK BRITTELL
OF BOISE STARTED
HAVING HEART PROBLEMS
IN HIS LATE 20S.
HE LIVED WITH THEM THE
BEST HE COULD, UNTIL
FINALLY GETTING A HEART
TRANSPLANT IN HIS EARLY
60S.
DOUG PETCASH CHECKED
IN WITH HIM BY PHONE
RECENTLY.
RICK SAYS HE'S DOING
GREAT AND IS STILL VERY
GRATEFUL FOR THE GIFT
OF LIFE AND THE GIFT OF
TIME.
NOW, WE TURN BACK THE
CLOCK TO 2017.
NATS
NATS OF
NATS OF TICKING CLOCK WITH THE RHYTHM OF A TICKING CLOCK...
-NATS OF CLOCK
OUR HEARTS PUMP LIFE
THROUGH US.
-NATS OF CLOCK
OVER TIME, RICK BRITTELL
OF BOISE BECAME KEENLY
AWARE OF THAT.
-NATS OF CLOCK
HIS AORTIC VALVE
REPLACEMENT PRODUCED
A LOUD CLICK... LIKE THIS.
-NATS OF CLOCK
"AND I GOT USED TO IT.
WHEN I HEARD THAT I
KNEW, OK EVERYTHING'S
GOING GOOD," SAID RICK
BRITTELL.
BUT THEN IN 2014...
"THIS PART HERE
ACTUALLY
ACTUALLY GOES INTO YOUR LEFT VENTRICLE OF YOUR HEART, AND IT SETS
IN LIKE THIS," SAID
BRITTELL.
RICK GOT THIS LEFT
VENTRICLE ASSIST DEVICE,
BASICALLY AN ARTIFICIAL
HEART.
"I HAD NO PULSE AND NO
BLOOD PRESSURE. I WAS A
WALKING ZOMBIE," SAID
BRITTELL.
NO HEARTBEAT. NO
CLICKS.
"SO WE BOUGHT SOME
CLOCKS TO PICK UP THAT
NOISE, TIMING LIKE THAT.
IT JUST MADE IT
COMFORTING," SAID RICK
BRITTELL.
THE CLOCKS TICKED AND
TOCKED FOR 18 MONTHS
UNTIL RICK AND HIS WIFE
SUSIE GOT THE CALL THAT
A DONOR HEART HAD
BEEN FOUND.
IT WAS TIME FOR A
TRANSPLANT.
"MY EMOTIONS WENT
FROM HERE, JUST
SKYROCKETED. LIKE OH MY
GOODNESS, I GOT A
HEART, AND AT THE SAME
TIME, IT WAS, OH MAN,
SOMEBODY JUST DIED,"
SAID BRITTELL.
THAT SOMEBODY WAS A
YOUNG
YOUNG MAN
YOUNG MAN NAMED "MANMEET." RICK HAS TROUBLE
VOICING WHAT THE LIFE-
SAVING GIFT MEANS TO
HIM.
"EXHALES. THAT'S A
TOUGH ONE. REAL
TOUGH."
TOUGH."
BECAUSE
BECAUSE HE FELT GUILTY. <"THERE'S NO WAY OF EXPLAINING IT."
UNTIL HE MET THE
DONOR'S FAMILY, AND
THEY TOLD HIM THEIR
LOSS WAS NOT HIS FAULT.
"ONCE THEY SAID THAT, IT
WAS LIKE, OK, NOW I CAN
GO TO THE NEXT STEP,"
SAID BRITTELL.
WHICH WAS PURE
GRATITUDE FOR HIM AND
SUSIE.
"IF IT WASN'T FOR THEM,
MY HUSBAND WOULD
NOT BE HERE," SAID SUSIE
BRITTELL.
RICK SAYS HE FELT BETTER
PHYSICALLY NOT LONG
AFTER THE TRANSPLANT.
"IT WAS LIKE OH YOU GOT
TO BE KIDDING ME. THIS IS
THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED
TO BE," SAID RICK
BRITTELL.
AND MENTALLY AFTER
GETTING THIS PIECE OF
INFORMATION FROM
MANMEET'S FAMILY.
"MANMEET TRANSLATED
INTO ENGLISH IS LOVING
HEART. AND WHEN THEY
SAID THAT IT WAS JUST
LIKE YOU KNOW TEARS
STARTED RUNNING DOWN
LIKE CRAZY BECAUSE
LOVING HEART AND HERE
I'VE GOT HIS HEART. JUST
ANOTHER WAY YOU CAN'T
EXPLAIN IT. YOU CAN'T
SAY THANK YOU
ENOUGH," SAID RICK
BRITTELL.
FADE OUT MUSIC -- FADE
IN
IN TICKING OF CLOCKS. THE CLOCKS HAVE NOW TICKED AND TOCKED A
YEAR AND A HALF SINCE
THE TRANSPLANT
SURGERY... AND TAKEN ON
A DIFFERENT MEANING
FOR RICK NOW THAT HE
HAS A HEARTBEAT AGAIN.
"NO MATTER WHAT
YOU'RE DOING THAT TIME
KEEPS ON TICKING.
46:59 - 47:04 "A
CONSTANT REMINDER,
THAT I'M ON BORROWED
TIME, TOO. EXTRA TIME."
NATS OF TICKING.>
RICK
RICK KNOWS HOW IMPORTANT SUPPORT FROM OTHERS CAN BE
AFTER RECEIVING A
TRANSPLANT.
HE HAS AN INFORMAL
SUPPORT GROUP FOR
ORGAN RECIPIENTS AND
THEIR CAREGIVERS.
HE SAYS THEY'RE JUST A
BUNCH OF "KIND-
HEARTED" PEOPLE WHO
UNDERSTAND WHAT
RECIPIENTS ARE GOING
THROUGH.
BEFORE THE
CORONAVIRUS, THEY
WOULD GET TOGETHER
FOR BREAKFAST AND FOR
"PIE NIGHT" ONCE A
MONTH AT A LOCAL
RESTAURANT.
THEY PLAN TO RESUME
THOSE ONCE IT'S SAFE.
YOU CAN JUST GIVE HIM
A CALL OR SEND HIM AN
EMAIL FOR MORE
INFORMATION.
WE'LL HAVE HIS CONTACT
INFO IN THE STORY
ONLINE AT KTVB.COM.
IN THE STORY YOU'LL
ALSO
ALSO FIND
ALSO FIND A LINK TO THE "YES IDAHO" WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN LEARN A
LOT MORE ABOUT ORGAN,