KIMBERLY BELLAMY
Tarboro resident Tony Allen, 58, is grateful for each year he lives to see, but he devotes a whole day every five years to celebrating the day he received his heart transplant, which saved his life.
Friday marked the 10th year since he went into the operating room at Duke Medical Center in 2001, and received the gift of life from a 25-year-old organ donor.
To commemorate the surgery, he didn't throw a big party or do anything extravagant. He relaxed in the comfort of his home, watched pre-game coverage of Super Bowl XLIV between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints and cooked on the grill.
To celebrate the five-year anniversary of the organ donation, Allen did much of the same except he was watching the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks.
Allen had no clue that there was anything wrong with his heart until he began having chest pains during church one Sunday, which turned out to be a heart attack. After seeking medical attention from Dr. Jayesh Patel, he was recommended to receive further examinations at Duke.
His condition was much worse than he anticipated. Allen was placed on the heart transplant list on June 23, 2000, and got the call from Duke that a new heart awaited him at their facility.
Reflecting back on it, Allen has decided not only to celebrate his life, but act as an advocate for organ donation. He said he talks with people to encourage them to become organ donors.
"Those parts (organs) are no good in the ground (after death), so why not use them to help someone," he said.
Medications will always play a part of his life now, taking 12 pills a day, but Allen said it's included the lifestyle changes he's made such as exercising, and eating healthier.
He said his health is so good that most people don't realize he had a heart transplant.
"People look at me and say 'It doesn't look like it's ever been anything wrong with you.' A lot of people don't know I've had one (a heart transplant)."
