Jessica Eastes, cardiac nurse, with "half a heart" undergoes risky transplant

 

Jessica Eastes at Texas Children's Hospital

People Magazine reported this story by Wendy Grossman Kantor, on March 12, 2025. 

"Born blue due to lack of oxygen — "I looked like a Smurf," she tells PEOPLE — she was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect when she was a few days old. By the time she was 7, she'd had eight open-heart surgeries."

"Eastes was shocked to learn in fall 2021 from her doctors at the University of Kansas Medical Center that she was experiencing heart failure and would likely need a heart transplant. The medication she was taking had helped for years, but she was having more issues requiring multiple hospital stays."

"It was scary,” she says. “Being a nurse is a great thing, because you kind of understand what they're saying to you. So they can talk to you like normal medical jargon. But it's also a curse because you know what to expect.”

"Her cardiologist referred her to Texas Children’s Adult Congenital Heart Program, part of the Texas Children’s Heart Center in Houston. Her first appointment was in May 2022."

"Jessica had a “complicated cardiac lesion,” says  Dr. Edward Hickey, surgical director of the program."

“She essentially has half a heart,” Hickey explains.

 “These are some of the most extreme transplants in terms of risk and complexity. In all the databases and registries, this category of transplants are particularly challenging and risky, which means that historically people have shied away from them.”

Read more at: 

Cardiac Nurse, 43, Gets Her Own Heart Transplant (Exclusive)

Cheers!

Donna