Harrell still waiting for a heart – Transplant Awareness Day event Sunday

The Herald Sun | Dawn Baumgartner Vaughn
DURHAM â€" Ivan K. Harrell is still waiting for a heart transplant, but he’s not waiting to get back into the game. A tennis phenom in his youth and then a local tennis coach, Harrell’s health sidelined his tennis game.

Harrell has congestive heart failure, ventricular tachycardia, cardiomyopathy and atrial fibrillation among other health problems that began in 1993 at age 29. In 2010, he had surgery to implant a Left Ventricular Assist Device, or LVAD. The over-the-shoulder straps look like he’s wearing a backpack.

The LVAD surgery and recovery was much harder than what he’ll go through for a heart transplant at UNC, Harrell said. He still has a bag packed and shaves body hair like his arms to be ready for an IV when the time comes. He’ll arrive with hospital socks on already, he said.

In the meantime, Harrell is getting back into tennis. When he was feeling low, going to watch a tennis tournament and meeting players made a big difference in his outlook.

He can’t run around the court like he used to, but he can still hit and will start teaching tennis lessons at Global Scholars Academy, a charter school next to his church, Union Baptist. His first day teaching tennis is Oct. 8. He turns 50 the next day.

Read more: The Herald-Sun - Harrell still waiting for a heart â€" Transplant Awareness Day event Sunday
For information about Heart for Harrell, contact Allen at 919-824-9873 or email kdemarcusa@gmail.com. To learn about organ transplants, visit www.transplants.org.

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