Tri-City man has thankful, donated heart

KENNEWICK -- Oscar Sainz has a heart overflowing with thankfulness.

The only problem is, he doesn't know who to thank.

The heart beating in his chest was implanted May 1 at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. He lives because someone was willing to share theirs.

"I am grateful in so many ways," he said.

Tuesday marks seven months since the family of an unknown donor gave him another chance at living.

Sainz was 40, working for Areva in Hanford and living in Kennewick when he sensed that his life was slipping away. A visit to a doctor revealed bad news: Congestive heart failure had all but clogged up his pumper.

"I had an 8 percent ejection factor," he said, describing the pitifully small amount of blood his failing heart was moving through into his arteries.

"I was scared," he said.

A fistful of prescription drugs put his heart on the rebound, improving the output to 35 percent, and he was thankful for the big improvement.

But by the winter of 2008, the powerful drugs could not sustain Sainz' heart any longer.

"My health took a nosedive and I knew the day had come. I'd have to have a new heart. But I wasn't as scared this time," he said.

Sainz became a candidate to receive an organ donation, and the Bellevue-based Donate Life Today would play a big part.

While waiting for another human heart, doctors at Sacred Heart decided Sainz should have an auxiliary heart device plumbed into his body. The ventricular assist unit consists of a turbine-like pump that spins at 9,800 revolutions per minute.

A flexible driveline connects to the turbine, which was placed inside his chest, with a motor and battery pack about the size of a camera bag that Sainz strapped to his side.

Thanks to the team, the device -- which is known as a "bridge to transplant" -- would give his ailing heart the assist he needed.

Having a driveline inserted into his abdomen meant Sainz had to be very careful to avoid infections. The medical dressings had to be changed regularly by his then 71-year-old mother, who'd become a full-time caregiver for her son.

Doctors installed the turbine in the summer of 2008, and Sainz was home in Kennewick within a couple of months, gaining strength and eager for word that another heart had been found for him.

While waiting, Sainz had a yard sale and sold his home in Kennewick so he could move to his mother's home in Burbank.

But by November 2008, Sainz was back at Sacred Heart, lured there by the offer of a furnished apartment at a bargain price. The owner was a recent heart transplant patient who wanted to do something to help another with a similar need.

"He told me not to worry about what it cost. Just take my time paying, he said," said Sainz, whose list of people to be thankful for just kept growing.

"Throughout this ordeal it was a positive experience because of all the people I got to meet. I got to see a different side of people," Sainz said.

It made him proud to see his son come alongside and become a strong, caring man, Sainz said, who noted that it was out of character for the son but much appreciated nonetheless.

When doctors called to say they had a heart for him, Sainz remembers being glad. But it wasn't until after he came out of surgery and had a chance to hear the electrocardiogram of his new heart that true thankfulness welled up in his chest.

"BOOM, BOOM," Sainz recalls, smiling. "The first thing I thought of was my donor and the family. I thanked God for not letting that heart die."

Confidentiality about donors prevents Sainz from knowing anything about who gave him the heart, but he was able to send the family a thank you note, and he'd like to say so in person.

"I pray that day happens," he said.

Since receiving his new heart, Sainz has made remarkable physical recovery. While he continues to be on disability, he has enjoyed his favorite pastime, fishing, landing steelhead and walleye with regularity this summer.

Physically, Sainz is feeling great. But the biggest plus is what a new heart did to his attitude.

"My mental outlook on life is different. Everything means so much more to me now. It's not that energy is there. It's how I feel about life," he said.

"There was a day not that many years ago I didn't think I've live to see my next birthday. But I'm excited about the future now," he said.

Sainz has become an advocate for Washington's Donate Life campaign with the theme: "Give thanks, Give Life."

"I want to tell my story. I want others (at Sacred Heart) to know that they can have the same opportunity I have," he said.

The Donate Life Today Registry is managed by LifeCenter Northwest, one of 58 federally-designated nonprofit organ procurement organization in the U.S.

Registration can be done online at www.DonateLifeToday.com or by calling 877-275-5269.

People also can check "yes" on the donor box when renewing their driver's license.

-- John Trumbo: 509-582-1529; jtrumbo@tricityherald.com