A new heart for Christmas
“After you’ve run 154 marathons and completed three ironman triathlons, you’re not expecting to hear the phrase, ‘You’ve got chronic heart failure,” says Dan Leite, 51.
Leite, a resident of Clintonville, OH, serves as the Vice Chairman on the board for The Columbus Marathon. Despite leading a healthy lifestyle, Leite was diagnosed with end stage heart failure at the early age of 47.
At 12:07 on Christmas morning, transplant surgeons at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical gave Leite a new heart and a second chance at life. “To get a call on Christmas Eve that they found you a heart and then your new heart starts beating at 12:07 Christmas morning, that’s pretty special,” says Leite.
Ohio State’s Comprehensive Transplant Center is a national leader in transplant success rates and is the only adult heart transplant center in central Ohio.
Leite has a special place in his heart for his donor’s family. “My heart goes out to them,” he says. “They lost somebody on Christmas Eve, but they were also able to give me a second chance.”
Leite, a resident of Clintonville, OH, serves as the Vice Chairman on the board for The Columbus Marathon. Despite leading a healthy lifestyle, Leite was diagnosed with end stage heart failure at the early age of 47.
At 12:07 on Christmas morning, transplant surgeons at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical gave Leite a new heart and a second chance at life. “To get a call on Christmas Eve that they found you a heart and then your new heart starts beating at 12:07 Christmas morning, that’s pretty special,” says Leite.
Ohio State’s Comprehensive Transplant Center is a national leader in transplant success rates and is the only adult heart transplant center in central Ohio.
Leite has a special place in his heart for his donor’s family. “My heart goes out to them,” he says. “They lost somebody on Christmas Eve, but they were also able to give me a second chance.”
