My friend, Doug Whaley's unexpected new heart leads him into new decade.

clipped from www.snponline.com * Whaley was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a condition that keeps the heart from pumping properly and can lead to blood clots and stroke. By KATHLEEN L. RADCLIFF Published: Tuesday, January 5, 2010 10:01 AM EST Douglas Whaley has been ringing in 2010 with a heart full of gratitude. Whaley, 66, received a new heart as he underwent heart transplant surgery Nov. 23 at the Ross Heart Hospital at the Ohio State University Medical Center. Dublin resident Douglas Whaley was scheduled to receive a heart transplant sometime in 2010, but on morning of the day before Thanksgiving, Whaley received a call from the hospital indicating that they had a heart ready for him, and asked if he could make it to the hospital within 40 minutes. He did, and is now recovering well from the procedure.

To celebrate the gift of life -- despite a few complications that landed him back in the hospital -- Whaley went ahead with a previously planned "New Year, New Heart" party with 30 guests. They included his son and daughter-in-law flying in for the occasion, on New Year's Eve, said Rachel Lewis, Lifeline of Ohio media relations and community outreach coordinator.

"Despite Doug's bump in the road, he and his family were still celebrating -- the party still went on, and he called in from the hospital and was put on speaker phone around 11:30 p.m. to wish everyone a happy New Year," Lewis said via e-mail Monday, Jan. 4.

She said Whaley, of Dublin, was scheduled to be discharged from the hospital Jan. 4.

"When he called, he told his friends, 'Your problem is -- you're all in the wrong place, the party is in Room 5004 at Ross Heart Hospital. Get down here right away,' " Lewis said.

Lifeline of Ohio is the not-for-profit organ procurement organization that promotes and coordinates organ and tissue donation in Central and Southeastern Ohio.

Organ and tissue donation provides a second chance at life for thousands of Americans waiting for a transplant, Lewis said.

The road to a new heart for Whaley began in 1999, when the former OSU law professor realized something was amiss.

"I knew something was wrong back in 1999, because my heart started beating way too fast," he said via e-mail. "That sent me to the emergency room."

Whaley was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a condition that keeps the heart from pumping properly and can lead to blood clots and stroke, Lewis said.

His condition continued to worsen, and impeded him from completing simple tasks or walking more than 20 feet. In January 2009, Whaley was put on a pacemaker and listed for a heart transplant.

Doctors told him it likely would take at least a year before a heart would be available for him, so he braced himself for a long journey, he said.

"I knew I was dying," Whaley said. "I quit buying clothes, making long-term plans and concentrated on living long enough for the transplant."

As recently as October, Whaley said, he was told the operation would not occur until sometime in 2010.

Whaley said he was working on his computer the morning of Nov. 23, when he received the phone call for which he thought he would have to wait a while longer.

"Mr. Whaley, we have a heart for you," was the message, he said. "It's the most startling sentence I've heard in my life."

"It is one thing, however, to appreciate a possible next year's heart transplant sometime in the future, and quite another to get the call and think -- today, they're going to rip me open, take my heart and replace it with another," he said.

"I have never driven as carefully as I did going to the hospital 10 minutes later."

"Now, I have a life again, and that is a miracle," he said.

Whaley said his surgeon came by days later and told him when he first saw his new heart, he thought, "That's a beautiful heart."

A nurse who watched his surgery said the heart removed was three times the size of his new heart.

"I was home and happy eight days later," he said. "So, from being on the verge of dying, I am filled with life again."

Whaley said he plans to write the heart donor's family early in 2010.

"They must be allowed a period for their grief," he said. "I do hope the letter will enable them to find some sort of closure.

"Whether they reply or not is irrelevant."

In addition to his party, as well as acting and directing in local theater productions, Whaley said he looks forward to an upcoming trip he didn't think he was going to be able to make anytime soon. It will be a trip to Las Vegas with his nephew Aaron, a student at Miami University who turns 21 in July.

"I have been going to Vegas for decades and know the place well," he said, adding his sister and ex-partner both live in the city.

"I never thought this trip would take place because of declining health, but I sent an e-mail to Aaron, and we are in the process of picking a date for next summer," Whaley said.

"Doug is one of the lucky ones," Lewis said.

"There are more than 105,000 Americans waiting for a transplant and, sadly, 18 men, women and children die every day waiting."

For more information about organ and tissue donation, visit lifelineofohio.org or call 1-800-525-5667.