After nearly seven years of waiting, Chevon Byfield finally has a new heart.
“I couldn’t believe it. I’m not going to lie to you—even now, I’m still in disbelief,” Byfield said.
Ten years ago, Byfield was diagnosed with heart failure and told he had only a few months to live. But a second opinion at Memorial Regional Hospital led to a second chance.
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“This is a Cinderella story, if you want to be honest, and I hope it helps people,” he said.
Since 2019, a heart pump known as an LVAD (left ventricular assist device) kept Byfield alive while he waited for a transplant.
“Unfortunately for him, it was time to get him transplanted because he was running out of time,” said Dr. Jose Garcia, Byfield’s surgeon.
Garcia explained that Byfield’s case was extremely rare. Most patients wait only weeks or months for a transplant once they’re admitted to the hospital. Byfield, however, faced three major obstacles: his large size, his common blood type O, and a build-up of significant antibodies in his bloodstream, developed after multiple infections and hospitalizations.
All told, Byfield estimates he spent nearly three of the past six years inside Memorial Regional, where the staff became like family. He even set a record for the longest wait for a transplant across all six of Memorial’s hospitals.
Despite his setbacks, Byfield found ways to give back—volunteering to help EMS teams learn how to treat patients with heart pumps and mentoring others with similar diagnoses.
“If you’ve been in here as long as I have and seen the things I’ve seen, there’s nothing I can do to repay these people,” Byfield said. “I’m truly happy to help others because that’s the only way I feel I can give back—and I still feel like it’s not enough.”
“We often have him speak with patients who are unsure about getting an LVAD or what life with the device is like,” Dr. Garcia added. “There’s no better person to talk to them than someone who’s lived with it for over six years.”
Byfield’s positivity remained contagious, even through hardship.
“It’s never over. As long as you can fight and have a support system—your doctors, your family—it’s never over. Sometimes, in the darkness, we can’t see that; we only see the battles we’re facing. I am very fortunate,” he said.
Now, Byfield hopes his journey inspires others while offering this important reminder:
“Don’t take your health for granted. Get your checkups, go to the doctor. Sometimes we feel like we’re invincible, but we don’t realize how much a little checkup or a doctor’s visit can matter.”
