Glendale Arizona Man Gets New Heart, New Outlook

The Arizona Republic

He's always been an early riser, and some mornings when Mike Session gets up with the sun in his Glendale home, he cries.

"Tears of joy," he said softly. "It's real easy to get sentimental in my situation."

Session, 56, has a new heart and a new life. Seven months after receiving a transplant at University Medical Center in Tucson, he's back to nearly full strength.

He had spent six months before the surgery with an artificial heart in his chest, tethered to a bulky machine that kept it beating. I wrote then about his tense ordeal and that an average of 13 Americans die every day waiting for organ transplants.

Session, who worked his entire career as a computer engineer with Honeywell, had suffered from a viral disease that destroyed his heart.

His surgery, done by Dr. Jack Copeland, head of the University of Arizona's heart transplant program, lasted five hours. To remove the large plastic heart, a few ribs had to be broken, making the early weeks of his recuperation more painful.

Though he still takes a handful of immunosuppressants daily, his health is so good that Copeland this month lifted restrictions on his physical activity.

He's one of the few men I know who talks exuberantly about cutting the grass and laying new tile in his atrium. He also played a round of golf with a fresh attitude.

"I shot in the 120s, but the score didn't matter a bit. It was a beautiful day."

He plans to do public speaking on behalf of organ donation and counsel people waiting on transplant lists.

"So many people did so much for me," he said.

"I need to give back."

His wife, Barbara, says the transplant experience has strengthened their marriage. She calls her husband "a nicer person, more gentle, a better partner than ever."

He was one of 28 people in the state to get a new heart last year. The Tucson program has been among the country's best in terms of life expectancy, with more than 60 percent of all recipients surviving more than 10 years.

Session has exchanged letters with the family of the donor and told them how much their gift means to him. He said they are in his daily prayers, and he considers Nov. 29 (his transplant date) his new birthday.

The donor's widow wrote that her husband died of an asthma attack, that he worked as a nurse and that they had three young children.

"Aaron had a very healthy lifestyle," she said. "He was a big guy, 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds. He was also very handsome, I might add.

"We are coping with this tremendous loss as best we can. I just wanted you to know that the organ donation made a huge difference for me and our family and helped ease our pain."

Aaron's mother wrote that Session was now part of her "extended" family. She said she had been told some organ recipients feel guilty because they benefit from another's death. Aaron "would absolutely not want you to feel any guilt," she assured.

She closed with a phrase from the Star Trek TV series that Aaron enjoyed, and, she thought, would want to say to the receiver of his heart:

"Live long and prosper."

Steve Wilson can be reached at (602) 444-8775 or at steve.wilson@pni.com via e-mail.

Copyright © 2000 Arizona Central.

This article posted June 23, 2000.