A new life: WCS coach recovering after heart transplant

Jun. 27—WEATHERFORD — For Rick Smith, everything tastes sweeter. The sunrises and sunsets look better and the wind feels a bit different.

Less than a month removed from a 10-hour procedure that removed his old heart and transplanted a new one, the Weatherford Christian School coach and teacher now has a new lease on life. Literally.

"The old Coach Smith died on that operating table, and then he rose again as far as what God did," he said.

Smith suffered heart failure in 2008, which left him using a defibrillator and pacemaker. In December, doctors told him he would likely need a heart transplant as he was no longer responding to medication.

But it wasn't enough to keep the longtime chaplain, teacher and coach from taking the field to support his football players. Things took a dire turn, however, in late April, when Smith's health began to decline to the point he was placed on the transplant list. A month later, he was admitted to the hospital on May 18 after lab reports came back poorly.

Less than a week later, he was given a balloon pump to help assist his heart to beat, and placed in ICU. That stay would last a day and a half before a phone call changed his life.

"The call came in for the heart on May 26," Smith said. "The doctor came in, woke me up and said, 'I want to let you know we've accepted a heart on your behalf.'

"When I asked where [it was], they told me it had not been harvested yet."

It was a bittersweet moment, as the realization set in that the person, a 20-year-old male, had the heart still, and was likely on life support.

"That's how old my boys are, and I just broke down," Smith said. "The doctor told me, 'You can't look at it that way. This is a gift he's giving to you."

That grieving process is something not many talk about, and it's important for Smith to let others know it is a key part of the journey, both on the donor's part and in losing something of your own.

In the days following the procedure, Smith began to compose what he called the most difficult note ever — offering condolences to the donor's family, along with a communication card should they wish to correspond.

"I told them about myself, how much I appreciate the gift that they've given me and that I have three sons myself that I'll get a chance to watch grow older," he said. "I wrote this note right before Father's Day and realized, there was a father without a son, and the son lives in me now.

"I want to honor that young man who lives inside me."

Smith was told numerous times by medical staff about the gravity of the May 27 surgery that lay before him — and the possibility he may not wake up.

His deep-rooted faith, however, gave him an overall peace.

"Being a hospice chaplain previously, people would say, 'I know where I'm going, but I'm a little scared,'" he said. "But [God] gave me a peace that surpasses all understanding."

Smith still remembers the image that came to him as he lay unconscious on the operating table — the brightest light with an angelic figure that stood watching over the procedure.

"They weren't there to get me, they were just standing watch," he said, reciting Psalm 91:11. "Night after night as I thought about that, I broke down. But it wasn't a feeling of sadness, it was an overwhelming feeling of love."

From the moment he woke up after surgery, Smith said it was go, go, go, getting up to walk, sitting in a chair for hours, occupational therapy, physical therapy and respiratory exercises.

"People think you're just supposed to lay there and recover, but you're not," he said. "And every day I walked further and further. Once they finally took out the last chest tube, I was moved to the heart transplant floor. I walked out of the hospital 12 days after the transplant."

Smith now must remain active, walking twice a day and exercising, and has a rigorous medical appointment schedule, along with medication and a new diet he'll have to stick with for the remainder of his life.

"Steak ... it has to be well-done, which broke my heart," he said. "No shellfish, no fried eggs. Everything has to be cooked really well.

"No grapefruit or pomegranate juice, which I wasn't as upset about."

For at least the next several weeks, Smith will have to make twice-weekly visits to UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and is set to begin cardiac rehab within the next month. He now has alarm reminders on his cell phone that go off at 8 a.m., 8:20 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. to take his medication.

"There's a term called innervation ... they cut the nerves and everything to the old heart, so [the new one] is not completely reattached," he said. "It takes a little bit for the heart to catch up to the body."

All in all, it's a small price to pay for perhaps his greatest gift in life.

"I will never complain because I have a new heart," Smith said. "People need to know there is a God and his word is true."

From the very beginning of his journey, Smith was embraced with support through WCS staff, students and the community at large.

The school donated two checks from fundraisers to help make the $1.5 million procedure easier, and a GoFundMe account was set up to help while Smith is out of work and recovering. On top of that, prayers from those all over the United States and even into other countries came in for the coach and chaplain.

It's provided Smith with a platform of multiple talking points, but one even nearer and dearer to his heart? Organ donations.

"It's important that people recognize there's a heart shortage, and an organ shortage," he said. "It's so important that we talk to our children or we consider becoming a donor and putting that on our driver's license."

Those interested in finding out more about becoming an organ donor can visit the United Network for Organ Sharing website at unos.org.