Former Twins legend Rod Carew in need of a heart transplant

Former Minnesota Twins legend Rod Carew is hoping to receive a heart transplant. Carew was profiled in an article by Steve Rushin of Sports Illustrated, where he talks about his near-death experience following a massive heart attack.

The details surrounding Carew’s heart attack are pretty terrifying:

He had suffered a massive heart attack—“the kind they call the widow-maker,” says his wife, Rhonda. And though doctors told Carew he was extraordinarily lucky to be alive—his heart had stopped beating on two separate occasions—he doesn’t always feel fortune-kissed. “My wife will tell you I get up in the morning and cry and wonder, Why me?” Carew says, convalescing in a friend’s house in the suburbs of San Diego after seven weeks in five hospitals. “But you can’t say that. I go back to when my youngest daughter was dying. I never asked my friend upstairs, Why me? And He’s the only one who has the answers.”

Doctors were able to install a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) during a six-hour surgery. As Rushin explains, an LVAD “acts as a bridge until a patient can receive a heart transplant.”

At 70 years old, Carew is on the borderline for a transplant, but there’s still hope he’ll be able to get one in the United States. For now, Carew is focused on getting healthy enough to qualify for the heart transplant waiting list.

The whole thing sounds scary, but the article is actually fairly up-lifting. You should definitely read the whole thing here. Carew went through an awful experience, but he seems to be doing much better now. It’s clear that the love and support of his family has been critical as he’s gone through this ordeal.

He also means a ton to the city of Minnesota. Carew not only spent the majority of his career in the city, but the new ballpark honors his legacy with a statue in his likeness.

With that in mind, there would be nothing better than Carew making an appearance at the ballpark next season. Hopefully, he’s healthy enough to make that a reality.

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