Skip to contents
In This Issue:
Katie Schade cares for Jean Toussaint in the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit after his heart transplant.
Jean Toussaint of Mattapan could not have asked for a better birthday gift than the life-saving heart transplant he received Aug. 3—his 51st birthday.
“It’s a day I was born twice,” said Toussaint, who, like many heart transplant recipients, refers to the day of the transplant as a second birthday.
He breaks into a big smile thinking about the phone call he received from cardiologist Gilbert Mudge, MD, just before midnight Aug. 2, informing him there was a heart. “That was so special for me,” said Toussaint, a father of three. “When I came in for the surgery, I had tears in my eyes because of these great people at the Brigham.”
A native of Haiti, Toussaint has spent the last 25 years supporting his wife and children as a bus driver in Boston. He developed congestive heart failure and was unable to work after having a ventricular assist device (VAD) implanted while waiting for a transplant. Now, he looks forward to returning to his bus route for an elementary school in Somerville.
“I know the students are going to be excited to see me,” he said. “And I miss them.”
Toussaint has made friends with many staff on Shapiro 6 East/West who also come from Haiti. “I have a new family and new friends here at the Brigham,” he said. “I have had a great experience at the hospital because I have a new life now.”
Katie Schade, MSN, RN, FNP, cared for Toussaint in the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit after his transplant. “As a nurse, this reminds you of all that’s rewarding,” she said. “He received the gift of life on his birthday—miracles do happen.”
Toussaint and his family are thankful to everyone involved in his care. “These people do these jobs so they can help people have a better life—that’s what I see,” he said. “They show it in their faces and also in their hearts.”