A Gift’s Long-Lasting Ripple Effect

February 9, 2021:

Nancy and Kelly Burke both grew up in Tallahassee. They graduated from Florida State University, got married, found jobs, bought a house, and then became pregnant. Nancy had always hoped for four kids – two boys and two girls.

Once pregnant, Nancy developed a terrible cough. She visited a pulmonologist in October 1988, and he alarmingly told Nancy that her heart was very enlarged. This came as a shock. Nancy had no prior health issues and lived an active lifestyle. She started medications in hopes that her enlarged heart was temporary.

On March 30, 1989, Nancy gave birth to Sarah. A couple of months later, Nancy visited her cardiologist, and learned that she had cardiomyopathy. The need for a heart transplant entered the conversation.

Heart transplants were not too common at the time. Tallahassee Memorial Hospital (TMH) had a heart

Transplant quickly became reality for the Burkes. On November 10, Nancy experienced extreme fatigue, weakness and vomiting. She was rushed to the TMH Emergency Room, where she was listed three days later to await a transplant.

Miraculously, Nancy received her heart transplant on November 20, one week after being listed. She went home eight days later, ready to be reunited with her 7-month-old daughter.

Nancy wrote her first thank-you note to her donor family within six months.

“I didn’t know how long my transplant would last,” Nancy said. “There had been no long-term stories. If things went bad, what would I regret? I’d regret not reaching out to them.”

Nancy and her donor family exchanged many letters. At five years post-transplant, Nancy wanted to give her donor family the opportunity to meet one another, so they went through the procedures for exchanging personally identifying information.

On the way back to Louisiana from a Disney family vacation, the family of Nancy’s donor, Tammi Brubaker, visited the Burkes in Tallahassee. A relationship blossomed, and the two parties would alternate visits, developing a friendship that has lasted more than 25 years.

Eight years post-transplant, Nancy wanted more children. The four she had initially hoped for was no longer an option.

“Faith is a big part of my life,” she said. “I asked God to take the desire for more children away. He didn’t.”

Nancy’s doctors knew of only one other heart transplant recipient who successfully gave birth. Doctors warned Nancy that pregnancy could endanger her life.

On March 24, 1997, Nancy and Kelly welcomed their son, Ryan, into their lives.

The Burke and Brubaker relationship has remained extremely close throughout the years. Both families gathered in Louisiana in November 2019, and they celebrated the 30 years Tammi’s gift has provided to Nancy.

“The fifth anniversary of my transplant seemed like a huge thing,” Nancy said. “I never imagined 30 years, and it lasting this long.”

However, on November 29, 2019, Nancy was listed at Jacksonville’s Mayo Clinic Hospital to wait for her second heart transplant. She received that heart on January 12, 2020.

“Donation is the greatest gift you can give someone,” Nancy said. “It’s the most selfless gift because you won’t know the impact – where it goes, who it goes to. The ripple effect of that is greater than anything. It’s the ultimate gift.”

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Learn more about Nancy and her family at …

https://www.wtxl.com/news/the-gift-of-life-how-one-family-s-gift-is/article_d96ef3ca-de0a-11e6-a313-7b47425696b6.html