Community rallies to support heart transplant patient
Alice Roberts has a lot of heart.
Now supporters of the upbeat 36-year-old wife of a veteran and American Legion soup kitchen volunteer are doing their part to give her a new one with multiple fund-raisers.
"She's got a huge heart, but it's broken and we've got to fix it," said Karma Blanchette of the Legion Auxiliary.
Roberts, who has several family members in the Kootenai Valley, left Friday for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., to wait for a heart donor. She volunteered up until the time she left, helping serve at the kitchen on Thursday. In Minnesota, she'll volunteer at the Gift of Life Transplant House to help pay for her rent.
With Roberts being a "Priority 1" patient and on medication for congestive heart failure, she needs to be at the clinic if a heart comes available.
"At the beginning of September they moved me up enough to where I need to be there because I live so far away," the Post Falls woman said. "The wait could be days, weeks or months. Doctors are anxious to do this before my heart deteriorates. If it deteriorates too much, I may not be able to have surgery."
Roberts has a strong support group, a positive attitude, faith and experience on her side.
"She's got strength beyond strength," said Robin Karrick of the auxiliary.
She was born with a congenital heart defect and had to have an aortic valve repaired at 3 months. At 15, the valve was replaced with a mechanical one. At 31, the valve was replaced with one from a donor.
With today's technology, doctors now believe she's had endocardial fibroelastosis, a rare heart disorder, her entire life.
"(The transplant) is just something that I have to do," she said. "God has blessed me and I am still here. Some people didn't think that I'd make it through the first surgery. I just really believe that God has a plan for me."
Roberts said her history also helps.
"I'm not going to say that I'm not nervous — it's a major surgery — but having gone through it I know what to expect as far as the surgery goes," she said. "I'm more nervous about afterward because I feel I'll have a lot to learn (with eating only certain foods, preventing sickness, etc)."
But the aftermath also offers hope.
"I want to have an active lifestyle with biking, hiking and hunting," she said. "Going up the stairs without trying to catch my breath would be nice."
Roberts said she is planning on returning to her job as at the North Idaho Eye Institute when she returns. She'll remain in Minnesota for three months after the surgery for tests.
According to the Mayo Clinic's Website, the facility in Rochester has performed 340 heart transplants between June 1988 and June 2007. There have been between 14 and 27 per year.
Roberts' husband Jon served in the Air Force in the Persian Gulf and Kuwait and works at the Naval research facility in Bayview. She has two step-sons — Jay, 13, and Bryce, 11.
Blanchette said she was shocked when Roberts became sick in August and delivered the news.
"She's so healthy and vibrant," Blanchette said. "I was knocked off of my feet when she came in."
Auxiliary President Dori Abrahamson said it's time to give back to a woman who has given so much.
"She's a sweetheart," Abrahamson said. "She's one of the neatest girls I've met. When she gets back, I know that she'll be on of our biggest volunteers. She's just that type of person."
The fundraisers will assist with Alice's living expenses in Minnesota and to fly Jon back to be with her during the transplant.
Benefit accounts for the fund have been set up at Montana Glacier Banks in Northwest Montana and area Mountain West Banks.
"I should have a good outcome because I'm healthy," Alice said. "I just need a heart."