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Jim Maki and Susan Whitman Helfgot visited BWH Aug. 9 to talk about the last episode of "Boston Med."
When Joseph Helfgot agreed to participate in the ABC News documentary, “Boston Med,” he had an agenda. “My husband really wanted to get the message out that people should sign up for organ donation,” said Susan Whitman Helfgot. “He was waiting for a heart transplant at the time.”
It would be the last footage ever taken of Helfgot, who passed away at BWH in April of 2009. But his legacy—and his important message of organ donation—live on, perhaps in a more powerful way than Helfgot ever imagined.
By chance, the ABC cameras were following both Helfgot and Jim Maki, who would ultimately receive part of Helfgot’s face in the nation’s second face transplant April 9, 2009. The nation tuned in to the finale of “Boston Med” on Aug. 12 and saw the rarely told personal story of both recipient and donor.
“It was amazing to be able to put the two together,” said Lorrie MacDonald, RN, nurse-in-charge for Tower 12 and the primary nurse caring for Maki post-surgery. “In some way, Plastic Surgery cared for both of them. Even though the donor had passed away, we were helping to maintain his legacy and helping Jim to move forward.”
Whitman Helfgot, who made the difficult decision to donate her husband’s face after he passed away, did not hesitate at the time. She wanted to do everything possible to help someone else have a chance at a better life. Maki’s face had been disfigured after an accident, and he is thankful to the Helfgots as he continues to improve a year and a half after a BWH team replaced the boney structures of his middle face, nose, nasal canal, hard palate, upper lip and muscle and tissue.
“Jim is doing very well,” said Bohdan Pomahac, MD, director of the BWH Burn Center, who led a large team in performing the 17-hour surgery. “He has recovered full sensation in his face and has feeling on both the inside and outside. He is moving all the muscles and is starting to be able to pucker his upper lip—the latest progress he’s made.”
Pomahac viewed the episode in advance with Maki, Whitman Helfgot and MacDonald and said it was special to see both sides to the transplant story. “It’s a powerful message,” he said. “We hope patients who need help will see this and come to us.”
Since Maki’s transplant, the BWH Face Transplant Program has evaluated a dozen patients, selecting four as potential candidates. “We anticipate operating on at least a few of them in the near future,” he said, adding that the candidates are at different stages of screening. “And our wish is that the public will consider donation of parts of the face as important as donating tissues or other organs.”
Surgeon Bohdan Pomahac, MD, and resident Evan Matros, MD, during the face transplant operation. Jim Maki and Lorrie MacDonald prior to the press conference at BWH in May 2009, where Maki revealed his face to the public for the first time.
Maki, who used to receive harsh comments in reaction to his face pre-transplant, agreed. “I want people to realize how important making a donation is to the person who needs a transplant,” he said.
In addition to the message of organ donation, MacDonald said the “Boston Med” series has portrayed the phenomenal work done by the Brigham. “I had a tremendous sense of Brigham pride watching this last episode, and I left it thinking I’m really fortunate and privileged to be part of the Plastic Surgery team and to be a Brigham nurse,” she said.
Whitman Helfgot praised the many cardiovascular doctors, nurses and others who cared for her husband for so many years. “They took an amazingly vested interest in my family and in caring for Joseph,” she said. “I’m blessed to be part of the Brigham family.”
She is thankful that many members of the Brigham staff, beyond the Cardiovascular Division, are able to get to know her husband in this episode. “A lot of people, especially Jim, never had an opportunity to meet him, and “Boston Med” gave us a chance to connect with him in this very special way,” she said.
Maki was glad for that chance, too. “I’m going to carry one part of him for the rest of my life, and I’m forever grateful,” he said.
Susan Whitman Helfgot and William Novak recently co-authored The Match: Complete Strangers, A Miracle Transplant, Two Lives Transformed in collatoration with Jim Maki. Whitman Helfgot’s share of the proceeds benefits the BWH-led Team Heart Rwanda, Donate Life America and the research laboratory of Bohdan Pomahac, MD. Find The Match at www.thematchstory.com
Learn more online at www.brighamandwomens.org/facetransplant