Chicago (CBS) — Two sisters have grateful hearts when they both received heart transplants at the same age — seven years apart.
Little sister Meredith Everhart and big sister Abby Cannon are now bound by a genetic condition and a second chance at life.
“It’s ironic that when he needed a heart transplant, it was at the exact same age that I needed a heart transplant,” Cannon said. “Seven years apart in age, seven years apart within 30 days of the transplant, and our birthdays are within 30 days.”
The sisters have a special bond of getting a second chance at life, which they both got at the age of 38.
Both sisters suffer from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy – otherwise known as HCM.
The genetic condition is a form of heart disease that causes the heart muscle to thicken.
In 2012, Cannon suffered chest pains. He was misdiagnosed in Nashville, Tennessee and received a second opinion at Northwestern Medicine in 2016.
“Within six months, I was a patient on an aortic balloon pump waiting for a heart,” Cannon said. “My heart stopped 32 days later, so my due date is February 27, 2017.”
A few months after Cannon’s transplant, Everhart was also diagnosed with HCM. He tried medication and participated in clinical trials, but his condition worsened.”
“For me, it was, she’s right—I was in denial for a long time, and I didn’t want to get sick. I was in my 20s. I was in my early 30s,” Everhart said. , it’s not happening. I saw how badly she suffered.”
In May 2022, Everhart contracted COVID-19, which sent him into heart failure.
He was put on the transplant list a year later.
“I got the call on January 29, 2024 this year, and it was a journey,” Everhart said. “It’s been fantastic though. Northwestern has been great.”
Cannon said she can’t stress enough how important it is to be an organ donor.
“None of us would be here if we didn’t have someone who gave this most selfless gift,” she said.