Six years waiting: a South Florida dad's unbreakable hope for a new heart

Everyone at the Cardiovascular Institute at Memorial Healthcare knows Chevon Byfield.

It's no wonder — he's been on the heart transplant list longer than anyone else at Memorial: six years and counting.

"I'm praying God gives me the heart soon this time," Chevon said to his mom. "You're going to get it this time," she replied.

Chevon is 39. He's scheduled for a heart procedure and will be admitted due to an infection. Ten years ago, doctors told him he had just a few months to live after being diagnosed with congestive heart failure.

"It's terrifying. The only thing that has kept me steady is the team. They reassured me in every way," he said.

Chevon is deeply grateful to his medical team at Memorial Regional. They implanted a heart pump to keep him alive while he waits for a transplant. Finding a donor heart large enough for a 6-foot-5, 250-pound man has been a challenge.

"The best days of my year are when I get to celebrate a heart transplant patient waking up after surgery. That, to me, is the best hope: that someone who was close to dying now has the chance at a normal life," said Dr. Iani Patsias from Memorial's Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Division.

While he waits, Chevon volunteers his time mentoring other transplant candidates and helps EMS teams understand how to treat patients with a heart pump. But his most important role is being a dad to two children and a bonus dad to three more, ages 4 to 19.

"Times like this are when memories are created with your kids. You want to be involved in those moments, and that's what I'm looking forward to. That's what gives me hope to stay strong and weather the storm until I get my heart," Chevon said.

Chevon and his medical team encourage everyone to talk to their families about the lifesaving gift of organ donation. Learn more at https://www.organdonor.gov/sign-up.