LI mom got the call that she was getting a new heart on Mother's Day
FREEPORT (WABC) -- This Mother's Day will mean so much more for one mom on Long Island after she found out she was getting a new heart one year ago on Mother's Day.
Exactly one year ago, 40-year-old Chevonne Dixon was getting ready for a heart transplant.
She didn't know what the future would hold or how rough her journey would be.
"I've spent half of my life with heart issues and it's been a rough road," heart transplant survivor Chevonne Dixon said.
Since age 19, her heart issues steadily worsened and she was on a waitlist for a heart transplant for 4 years.
"Feeling hopeless that it might not come fast enough, that she might get sicker while she was waiting," transplant cardiologist Dr. Maya Barghash said.
She was worried she would miss critical moments for her teenage son and daughter.
Dixon got the call that a new heart was ready 3 other times while she was waiting.
Two of them didn't go through for medical reasons.
And the other case was a surreal moment.
"The first one didn't work out because the plane broke down, that would've brought the organ to the hospital," Dixon said.
"The plane literally broke down?" Eyewitness News Reporter Stacey Sager said.
"I wake up after they put me to sleep and I said I didn't feel like I had anything done," Dixon said.
She said the emotional rollercoaster was hard to describe, but then last year on Mother's Day the phone rang yet again.
"And I'm like, Oh my God," Dixon said.
And that time, it was a go.
And it hasn't been an easy road since the transplant.
Dixon has already had a reaction to an anti-rejection drug, and she had an actual rejection last July.
She's also had 15 biopsies since the transplant.
Dixon's doctors at Mount Sinai say her prognosis now is excellent.
But ironically, as moms, many young women have stronger immune systems, which can make the wait longer for transplants.
Dixon now has a new lease on life.
"She's sort of seen the valley of death and is now able to enjoy all those moments that she wasn't fully able to enjoy before," Dr. Barghash said.
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