James Henneberry - Success Story
James Henneberry remembers waking up and wondering what happened.
"I had this thing in my stomach and I had no clue what had happened," said Henneberry.
After going to his local hospital complaining of fever, general malaise and shortness of breath, he was diagnosed with viral myocarditis. The infection quickly attacked his heart, putting him in cardiogenic shock. The 33-year old father of two had slipped into heart failure and was immediately transferred to Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
To assist with heart function as Henneberry awaited a possible heart transplant, Nader Moazami, MD, surgical director of heart transplant at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine implanted a left ventricular assist device (LVAD).
Three days later, one of his nurses discovered a clot in the device. Henneberry had additional surgery to remove the LVAD and the heart surgery team discovered his heart was now strong enough to recover without a transplant.
"If he wasn''t on the LVAD for those few days he probably wouldn''t have made it," says Dr. Moazami.
He is now completely recovered. Although he admits much of his hospitalization was hazy, what Henneberry does recall is the "exceptional professionalism and compassion" of the nursing staff and physicians. "I was very scared and every single nurse who attended me made me feel a little better about the situation in his or her own way," he says.
"I''ll do anything for Dr. Moazami and the nurses," says Henneberry. "They saved my life."