Local News

Local Man Remaining Positive While Waiting For Heart Transplant

May 15, 2014 / 5:30 PM EDT / CBS Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A 51-year-old man we've been following as he waits for a heart transplant is still hoping and praying for that call.

We first met Moses Hart in January and followed up with him a month later.

KDKA-TV's Brenda Waters caught up with him last weekend at his home on the North Side, where he still does his volunteer work and exercises on a regular basis so that his new heart will be in a healthy place.

However, he's still waiting for the phone to ring and he admits it can be frustrating.

Hart said he is waiting to live and the longer the waits, the more difficult it becomes. However, he has a special way of coping.

Moses Hart is the one who needs the heart transplant, but it is he and his wife, Donna, who wait.

They are partners in this journey. Recently, the couple moved from Bellevue to Allegheny Center to be closer to Allegheny General Hospital, where he will have his heart transplant when he gets the call.

"Physically, mentally - lot more positive energy, much brighter. We had a basement apartment and I feel more relaxed here, very more relaxed," Moses said.

He is relaxed and working as a team with his spouse even when it comes to the 26 pills he takes every day.

"Set up his pills for a week. We went and bought what would normally be a pill bottle for a whole week. He has to use that for a day because he takes pills six times a day," Donna said. "We're part of a team. I tell him what he needs to get, he goes and gets it during the week while I am at work."

While Donna is at work, Moses does a lot of thinking.

"I took your suggestion. I started writing things down - how I feel and it helps me cope with it much better and keeps me in that positive attitude I need," he said. "Just tired of being in limbo. Basically, I like to call this part waiting to live."

While Moses waits to live his life, he remains connected to a ventricular assist device that keeps him alive.

Since his own heart doesn't pump enough blood, a device does it for him. It is attached to his heart and he carries the pump and power source outside his body in a fanny pack. He even sleeps with it.

Moses says when he closes his eyes at night, he prays he will awaken the next day. When he does, he takes in the morning sunlight with Donna at his side, surrounded by the many hearts she collects.

With the move to the North Side apartment, when Moses does get that call, he and his wife can get to Allegheny General Hospital in minutes and get prepped for that long awaited heart transplant.

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