Earlier this year, David Kornwolf of Oxford, Massachusetts, was diagnosed with severe heart failure and told he would need a new heart, but he was low on the transplant priority list. While in the hospital, he had a chance to meet with Jay Toland, a volunteer with the HeartBrothers Foundation, an organization that provides resources for heart patients. That meeting would turn out to be a lifesaver.
A few days after Kornwolf indicated he’d be willing to accept a lesser quality heart, he received a call saying a heart was available. But he needed to reach Tufts Medical Center in Boston within a few hours and having just gotten a new phone, he had no contacts to help him get there. But he did have Toland’s card. Even though they were virtually strangers, when Toland received the call for help from Kornwolf, he dropped what he was doing and rushed to get him to the hospital on time.
For Toland, the decision to help Kornwolf was easy. After receiving a lifesaving heart transplant himself, he’d committed to give back. "This one heart that I got saved two lives already," he says. Thanks to his selfless act, Kornwolf received his lifesaving heart too. And now, inspired by Toland, Kornwolf wants to become an advocate for the HeartBrothers Foundation, hoping to support others facing similar challenges.
Source: CBS NEWS