Social - January 2004

HEART and SOUL

Transplant recipient sticks strong to his faith

By DIANE TURBYFILL, Staff Writer

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His new heart beats stronger each day, fueled by faith.

Harold “Nero” Summey underwent heart transplant surgery at the beginning of October 2003.

Three and a half months later the 63-year-old retired city police officer returned to his Lincolnton home Thursday.

Despite many losses, Summey and his wife, Mary, remain faithful and proclaim the miracles of God that they’ve experienced.

Heartbreaking

Heart problems run in Nero’s family. Both his parents died young due to heart trouble. A heart attack affected his career. He had to stop covering the streets and man the desk at the Lincolnton Police Department. But the Summeys didn’t sit idle.

Nero was placed on the transplant list in the ‘80s. His doctor gave him 10 years to live.

Many tragedies hit the Summeys in 2000, and they faced each one with God’s help.

“My mother died, and I prayed for an angel. Harold was put on the transplant list, and our son was killed,” Mary said. “I prayed for a heavenly host of angels.”

Though their hearts ached at the loss of family members, the Summeys struggled to carry on.

Mary sought help at Pathways to work through the death of their only son, Pete.

Pete had hoped his father would get a new heart. He died in a construction accident before seeing it happen.

The couple paid tribute to Pete’s wishes. They used memorials from his funeral to start a transplant fund. The account is still active today.

With the help of medication and seven bypass surgeries, Nero’s heart strengthened, and he was taken off the transplant list. But problems recurred, and again Nero was waiting for a new heart.

Matters of the heart

On Oct. 3, 2003 the phone rang. By noon Nero was in surgery at Carolinas Medical Center.

“We didn’t see him again until about 11 that night,” Mary said.

Complications followed.

“They literally stood and massaged the new heart for hours,” Mary said.

Because Nero had retained so much fluid, doctors could not close his chest after surgery. For days he lay in the hospital bed with his chest open.

At times his blood pressure dropped and his new heart stopped beating. Mary and her friends continued to pray while doctors kept trying to find a solution.

Nero was medicated and slept through weeks of difficulties — he lost immense amounts of blood, had dialysis for his diabetes and had complications with his feet due to lack of circulation.

Meanwhile Mary drove to CMC daily, praying and keeping a journal. Her older sister, Betty Jo Barger, was by her side many days.

“He looked so bad. When I came out, I came out crying. I said, ‘You know, we’ve been through so much. I don’t know if my buddy is going to make it through this time,’” Mary said.

When her spirits were at their lowest, she was suddenly uplifted.

Heart and soul

Mary and Betty Jo walked down the hall, headed back to Lincolnton when they heard a voice call Mary’s name. The sisters looked around. No one had heard the voice but them. Mary said it was her angel finally answering her prayers.

“It was after that that I had peace of mind because I finally thought that my Harold was going to get better.”

Behind his closed eyelids, Nero, too, had a vision.

He described a feeling of serenity as he walked and came upon a crystal sea.

“It was so clear that you could see through it, and there was a big tree with roots everywhere. It was so peaceful, just a clear blue sky, trees and me,” he said.

Nero could see someone in the distance. As he approached, he realized who it was — his son, Pete, sitting on a rock.

“He had a smile on his face. He never moved his lips, but I could tell what he was saying. He said everything would be all right.”

His jaw quivered as he spoke of his son.

Pete motioned him on. Nero continued walking until he saw his parents looking youthful and happy. He described every detail of their clothing down to the string of pearls on his mother’s neck.

They, too, motioned him on.

Nero crossed a clearing, climbed a hillside and approached a cave — inscribed with a dove’s wing,  four yellow roses and a shock of wheat. The voices he heard coming from the cave did not call for him, so he walked on.

“That increased my faith a whole lot. Of course my faith always had been strong, but I knew He had other plans for me,” Nero said.

His eyes opened.

He couldn’t lift his voice or his hands. He communicated with his family for weeks by reading lips. But communication was the smallest of his battles.

Follow your heart

After almost a month in bed, Nero’s muscles lacked strength. Weeks of physical therapy awaited him.

His feet had turned black due to lack of circulation. Nero had to make the decision to amputate.

His left foot was removed, and he still risks losing part of his right.

He remains optimistic.

“I’ve come a long way,” he said.

The daily routine at the CMC Rehabilitation Center was strict. A round of almost 20 pills followed breakfast and two sessions of physical therapy filled the day.

Mary visited at least three times a week. She followed Nero and his therapist to physical therapy and encouraged his conquests.

“My heart’s fine,” he said. “Now if the rest of my body would cooperate.”

Nero practiced sitting and standing, getting in and out of bed and other practical movements. He is still in a wheelchair but plans to get fitted for a prosthetic.

His hard work and optimism paid off.

Home is where the heart is

Nero was released from the rehab center Thursday, three and a half months after he was admitted.

His Lincolnton home has already been modified. Mary said a ramp has been installed, cabinets moved and doors removed. Work and supplies for the project were donated by friends and family.

A small celebration welcomed Nero home. The family hopes to have a big party once he is settled in.

Despite the uphill battle, Mary and Nero consider the experience a blessing and a miracle.

Mary wears a cross around her neck and a smile on her face.

Her joyful face turns to sadness on occasion when she talks about the death of her son, and when she thinks how the family that must have suffered when Nero received his heart.

“I know that some other mother knew the pain that I felt when my son was killed,” Mary said. “I’d just love to let them know that the heart wasn’t wasted — that a good Christian man received it and that it will be well taken care of.”

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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