30 years post-transplant, this Tipton County man considers his life an 'ongoing miracle'
The life expectancy for a person after a heart transplant has been on an upward trajectory since 1967, when a South African grocer, Louis Washkansky, became the first recipient in the world to survive the surgery.
He lived 18 days after.
Fifty-six years later, the average post-heart transplant life expectancy, for those who survive the surgery, hovers around 13.5 years, according to the Mayo Clinic Transplant Center.
Then there's James Ridgell, an Atoka resident that is the embodiment of how far the science around heart transplants has evolved. At 70, he recently celebrated 30 years post-transplant, just seven years behind the person who holds the Guinness World Record for the category.
Ridgell calls the 30-year stretch "an ongoing miracle."
Heart disease has ravaged Ridgell's family. His parents both passed away in their 50s from heart disease. His three brothers and sister have all struggled with heart disease. One brother was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy at 13 years old. Another brother had to have a transplant.
At 30 years old, Ridgell stumbled into Methodist North's emergency room with congestive heart failure, double pneumonia, and pulmonary edema. His heart arrested, and he was shocked back to life.
That night kickstarted years of declining health and medical interventions. As his condition worsened, doctors told him his best hope for survival was a heart transplant.
Ridgell, a person of deep faith, recalls falling to his knees one night in 1993, after years of defibrillator shocks, unending lethargy, and general suffering.
"I got on my knees, gave my life to Jesus, and told him, 'Take my life, do what you want to do with it. I'm tired of suffering,'" said Ridgell.
The next day he got a call. A 15-year-old boy died unexpectedly in Nashville after a traffic accident. His heart was a match and a team of healthcare workers at Baptist Memorial Hospital were assembling for the operation.
Ridgell still thinks of the boy from time to time, whose heart helped him live to meet his 14 grandchildren. His life now looks like a carousel of birthday celebrations, afternoons spent working on a '98 Chevrolet truck, and planting a small garden every year.
He also refers to himself as a "shade tree mechanic," and offers his mechanical skills to those who need auto repairs but cannot afford them. Using his life to help others makes sense to him.
While Ridgell's family has suffered loss after loss to heart disease, beating the odds also seems to be a genetic trait.
Ridgell is the second-longest survivor of Baptist's heart transplant program. The longest survivor of the Baptist program is his uncle, who lived for nearly 33 years post-transplant before succumbing to COVID-19 in 2020. The two received hearts at Baptist in the early years of its transplant program.
Reneé Hatcher, the administrative director of Baptist's transplant services, has been involved in Ridgell's journey, in some capacity, since the start.
In her time with Baptist, Hatcher has seen 478 successful transplant operations. She' also seen the range of emotions associated with the struggles of heart disease from the anxiety of waiting for an organ donation to the jubilation of patients gifted with a second shot at life.
Stories like Ridgell's define the best part of her work.
"He's been an ambassador for our program," Hatcher said, "He's always been available to talk to people that are in the waiting process and share his story."
Micaela Watts is a reporter for the Commercial Appeal covering healthcare, hospitals, and resource access. She can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: The longest survivor of Baptist Memorial's heart transplant program
