Three years ago, Clinton resident Jordan Keshler was in a coma. Now, he's fulfilling a dream
Three years ago, Clinton resident Jordan Keshler suffered a stroke and entered a coma for two days.
Keshler took a turn for the worse during a procedure to get a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) implanted at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. In the months following, the 41-year-old Barker Brook golf course superintendent wondered how much longer he could make it.
But, a year later, Keshler secured a heart transplant. From this Friday to Sunday, he tackles Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. The Round of a Lifetime Foundation is paying for all expenses for Keshler’s trip to the Tar Heel State.
"It is surreal, something I had hoped for but didn't know if it would ever happen," he said. "It'll be great be able to walk where legends walked before and see their perspective."
Dan Igo, Director of Content for Round of a Lifetime, and eight others founded the foundation in 2010 to honor a friend who died from congenital heart failure at 24. Igo said the purpose of the foundation is to “provide the opportunity for those suffering from congenital heart disease and their loved ones to play an unforgettable round of golf at a world-class course.”
Keshler fits that bill. However, he originally reached out to Igo just to thank him for the establishment’s mission.
“We encouraged him to apply,” Igo said. “Once he applied, we needed to figure something out to make his trip special.”
Usually, the foundation allows a round of golf at a world-renowned site, but for Keshler, it added more. Keshler and three friends will stay at the resort for the weekend and play the multiple courses it offers, including the famed No. 2 course, which hosted three U.S. Opens. The resort, located 70 miles south of Raleigh, features 11 courses in total.
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Golf runs in the family
Keshler, a Mohawk Valley native, has played golf since he was five. Growing up, his family owned Barker Brook Golf Club in Oriskany Falls.
He played golf competitively for Waterville High School, where he competed in states his last two years and landed in the top 10 of the New York State Amateurs.
He trekked south to Coastal Carolina for college, not expecting to form a career on the links. However, when he returned to Oneida County in 2003, his family still controlled the club.
“It was inevitable with the family business that I would come back to work here,” he said.
A year later, his family sold the course due to his father’s heart issues. Keshler stayed on staff.
In 2012, Keshler collapsed while visiting his father who was recovering from LVAD implant surgery at Tampa General Memorial.
A clot developed in his heart, and doctors immediately performed open heart surgery on the then 32-year-old.
Specialists hoped Keshler would regain strength after his surgery, but he did not. As a result, a pacemaker defibrillator was embedded into him, in case his heart gave out.
From 2012 to 2018, Keshler lived his life normally, even with a weakened heart.
That changed the day the defibrillator shocked him at Barker Brook.
“I was walking down the fairway, and it felt like somebody threw a basketball and hit me in the chest,” he said. “I had no warning, it just hit me and knocked me to the ground. I stood up, and it hit me again.”
Doctors at Strong decided to insert an LVAD into Keshler. An LVAD pumped blood for Keshler because his heart wasn’t strong enough.
“I was on batteries 24 hours a day,” he said. “I carried batteries in my pockets, it added 10 pounds to me. I had a line going from the batteries through my stomach into the pump in my heart.”
Keshler could not shower for a year or play golf. He continued to work at Barker Brook, though.
Strong Memorial estimated he would receive a new heart in two to four years. He sought out support groups when he heard about a new clinical trial at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The trial, run by Transmedic, attempts to make it easier for patients to receive a heart by placing it in a special box.
After waiting for four days, Keshler's wife, Sonya, got a call. On February 11th, 2020, Keshler received a new heart.
Due to his young age and good health, Keshler recouped quickly. By June, he was back on the golf course. The average life expectancy for a transplanted heart is 20 years, so Keshler hopes new technology emerges in the next two decades.
For now, he tries not to worry about that and focus on being present for his young daughter.
“You don’t want to leave them without a father,” he said. “My father died six months after his LVAD was implanted, and I want to stick around for her.”
Donations can be made to Round of a Lifetime at https://roundofalifetime.org/donate.
Noah Ram is a sports reporter for the Observer-Dispatch. Email Noah Ram at nram@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Clinton man to play golf at Pinehurst through Round of a Lifetime gift
