INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — After a six-year wait for a heart transplant, Jeremy Carr expected he would be "jumping for joy" after learning doctors had a near-perfect match.
But instead of celebrating, tears rolled down his face.
"I'm nervous. That is an understatement," Carr explained from his hospital bed, a short time before the surgery. "I wouldn't be human if I wasn't scared.”
A heart transplant is a risky surgery, and one life was already lost.
In the late evening hours of March 29, shortly before Carr’s transplant, his mind was on the donor’s family, their loss and their gift.
"I would like to talk to them and let them know I am going to do my best with their loved one's heart," Carr said.
Carr knew his time was running out with his old heart.
He also knows this new heart is a second chance at life and a second chance to be the kind of man he wants to be for his family.
Six-Year Wait
Carr joined the heart transplant waiting list when his heart started to fail in 2012. Doctors fitted him with an artificial heart or VAD in 2014 to keep him alive, but last fall, Carr's health deteriorated.
Doctors determined his best shot at survival was to move into the hospital on the Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit where staff could respond quickly in an emergency.
The days waiting became weeks and months.
Carr celebrated birthdays and holidays at the hospital.
He realized that each of those special days could be the last he celebrated.
In February, Carr told Eyewitness News, "Worst case scenario is I don't get a heart, and I don't make it too much longer."
Model Patient
Carr is a self-employed mechanic, and he missed working. He decided to stay busy at Methodist by simulating his job, but this time with a smaller vehicles. Carr built model cars.
He customized his elaborate plastic models using medical equipment like bed pans and chest tubes.
As he built cars, he saw other patients realize their fate.
"There are people that pass away all the time in here. There has been two people that has passed away in the next room, after hearing the family pulling the plug and making decisions...that stuff is hard to hear," Carr said.
But building models helped Carr silence the surroundings.
His finished cars decorated his window sill and the collection grew exponentially.
By spring, word of Carr’s work spread on social media. Strangers from around the world sent boxes with new models and notes of encouragement.
"I've never had anybody send me nothing like that, so generous" Carr said.
Go Time
Early the morning of March 29, a team of doctors told Carr they thought they might have a new heart.
After a series of tests, they confirmed a 100% match. It does not get much better than that.
About 9 p.m. Dr. Tom Wozniak, a specialist in thoracic and cardiac procedures, arrived at IU Health Methodist Hospital ready to work through the night.
As he checked in with Carr, he explained that they hoped to start the operation at about midnight.
Family and close friends gathered in Carr’s room for quiet conversations.
They exchanged hugs and words of encouragement and shed a few tears.
The journey was a lot to process for Carr in the final hours before surgery.
He spent years in limbo, waiting, and it was about to end thanks to a stranger’s priceless gift.
"There has been a lot of times where I felt like I didn't deserve it, just because of the way I had been in the past," Carr said.
The IU Health caregivers and generosity of strangers sparked a self-reckoning. Carr says he developed a will to be worthy.
"I have learned a lot of how I was and (how) I used to be and I can't be that person anymore. You can't be selfish,” Carr explained. “I've turned my life around, and I'm willing to prove it."
But to do that, Carr had to survive surgery.
"There is always a risk...(it's) scary for everybody," Wozniak said.
As an orderly wheeled Carr to surgery, the medical team that had cared for him for months formed a “tunnel of love,” wishing Carr the best as he headed out into the operating suites.
"I just put it in God’s hands when I go in there," Carr said.
Heart Transplant
The specialized transplant team worked throughout the night. It took nearly eight hours to remove Carr's heart and attach the donor's heart.
When Carr was removed from the heart lung machine and the new heart starts pumping his blood the morning of March 30, the procedure was deemed a success.
Amazingly, later that day, Carr posted a brief video to let his family know, he's awake.
"It’s like I went to surgery, and then I just took a nap, and then I woke up and here I am," Carr said.
He spent the next two weeks, getting stronger.
Simple steps eventually progressed to two laps around the hospital floor.
Finally, after his 204th day at Methodist, doctors agreed to send him home.
Carr’s family renovated the house during his absence.
Balloons and decorations outside welcome him home.
The bumpy car ride was painful and when Carr pulled into his driveway he was emotional and in disbelief.
"I never thought I'd get back," Carr explained with tears streaming down his face.
But he did.
And now Carr has that rare second chance.
He has a new heart and, he promises, a new focus.
"I promise that I am going to do everything that I can do to carry on this new organ and make it count."
Carr arrived home in mid-April, with the hope of visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May. His recovery is on track.
He plans to visit the Speedway on Carb Day and attend Sunday's race.
Carr’s journey is attracting national attention. A network news crew plans to document his events at Carb Day.