Glenn Stuckmann needed a new heart 25 years ago. A viral infection had caused his heart to enlarge to the point that his life became endangered. He joined the long list of people who needed a new heart for transplantation.
After a year and a half of waiting in despair, Glenn finally had his chance to get his diseased heart replaced with a new and healthy one.
Photo: Twitter/Gabriella BacharaFrom that point on, after the successful surgery, Glenn pursued a more optimistic and blissful life. He met a woman with two daughters whom he married and who became a mother to his own son. He moved on but never forgot the people who saved his life.
After 25 years, Glenn visited Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center of Aurora Health Care Metro in Milwaukee, where he had undergone the heart transplant. There, he met Dr. John Crouch, the Surgical Director of Cardiac Transplantation once more.
The two men greeted each other warmly. Glenn told Dr. Crouch that he did a good job. The former patient now enjoys a healthy life.
Photo: Twitter/Gabriella Bachara “I remember Glenn like it was yesterday. Although it wasn’t yesterday,” Dr. Crouch said.
He told CBS 58 WDJT-Milwaukee that he has been saving the lives of people with heart conditions every day. “We roughly do 30 to 40 transplants a year, and that would be what we maintain. That still puts us at the top 10 to 15 percent of programs.”
The surgical director added that there have been significant improvements in the transplant allocation system over the past two and a half decades.
Indeed, the world is seeing more progress in this complex medical system. Today, more than 85% is the overall survival rate after one year and about 69% for adults after five years.
Written by Doris De Luna
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