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Patient Cyrus Roberts with BWH's Michael Givertz
After recovering from his second heart transplant, 26-year-old Cyrus Roberts hopes to someday take his experiences and use them to benefit future transplant donors and recipients.
"I would really love to be a transplant coordinator," said Roberts, who holds a master's degree in Public Health. "I've always dreamed of giving back through transplant or health education. I've been through this twice now. I want people to know there's a huge light at the end of the tunnel."
Around age 5, doctors diagnosed Roberts, of Burlington, Vermont, with restrictive cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle that causes the heart to become excessively rigid and unable to fill properly with blood. It's one of the rarest types of cardiomyopathy in the U.S.
Roberts underwent his first heart transplant in 2002 at Boston Children's Hospital. Although he did well for several years, he later developed blockages in his coronary arteries. After being implanted with a pacemaker and stent in 2013, Roberts was placed on a transplant list for a second heart transplant after his BWH physicians determined that his heart couldn't be repaired. Roberts received his second heart transplant last month at BWH, after suffering a heart attack last year.
Having to face a rollercoaster of emotions while awaiting a transplant two separate times in his life has been taxing for Roberts, but he said that these experiences have made him stronger, both mentally and physically.
"I feel so blessed and thankful for how it all turned out," he said. "It feels like I got a second chance to live. It really makes you not take a single day for granted."
Michael Givertz, MD, medical director of the Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program and part of Roberts' care team, said of the roughly 2,000 adult patients who undergo heart transplants every year in the U.S., only 3 percent are listed for re-transplant. He anticipates Roberts will make a full recovery and resume an active lifestyle over the next few months.
"Cyrus is a wonderful young man and truly a pleasure to care for," Givertz said. "He is especially mature and thoughtful in his overall approach to his health. While he seeks sound advice from his parents and clinicians, he can always be counted on to make the right decisions for himself."
Roberts thanked his care team at BWH, as well as his family and friends for all they have done for him. He says he is looking forward to regaining his independence soon and getting back outside and enjoying the activities that make him happy.