Life After A Heart Transplant

The following story is about Jim, a 54-year-old member who received a heart transplant.  By joining the First Health® National Transplant Program, he was able to receive additional guidance and support both before and after his operation.  Jim and his wife, Becky, shared with us how participating in the program has benefited them.

Jim:  “Time today is great, because you know you get to see tomorrow.  Before the transplant, everyday I could shut my eyes and never wake up. But now I get to be retirement age.  I get to see grandkids.  I get to see a lot of things I would never have gotten to see. It’s one of the best feelings I’ve had in a long time.”

  “After my company switched to First Health, I received a call from a care support nurse telling me about the transplant program and the doctors and hospitals that participated in the program.  Not only did she answer all of my questions then, but she continued to call me every so often just to see how I was doing and to make sure my claims were being processed quickly.”

“I definitely had a friend with First Health.  If I ever had any problems, they were taken care of. I’ve never dealt with [a health benefits company] that has helped that much.  My doctors were absolutely fantastic. The people working in the hospital where I had my surgery were probably the most friendly, caring people that I’ve ever met in my life.  Most of the time it’s ‘here’s the money’ and that’s it.  To both me and my wife, this company has really gone the extra mile.”

Becky:  “My first thought was, oh my gosh, how are Jim and I going to get through this?  Over the past few years, we’ve had to deal with so many decisions that it’s been really instrumental having First Health help us streamline some of the decisions and the expenditures that we’ve had to deal with.  First Health really interacted with Jim a great deal.  We’ve  had nothing but extreme appreciation for everything that was done for him.”