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TOP 10 2007: NO. 6 - Ron Branson looking hearty following transplant
By SARAH BLASKOVICH, Community Editor
In September 2006, Ron Branson was lying in a hospital bed.
Some thought he wouldn’t make it. His father had died with heart trouble at age 44 and his mother died of a heart attack at 55.
Branson, 59, had gotten so sick that he resigned, the position he loved on the Carrollton City Council. He was mayor pro tem at the time.
Simmons ran and defeated Jack Stotz, a former member of the Carrollton Planning & Zoning Commission with 1,046 votes. Stotz received 844 votes.
Branson was back on his feet in time to attend the swearing-in ceremony for his replacement.
Branson received a heart transplant on Jan. 2.
Eight days later, he walked out of Medical City of Dallas, a new man. He and his wife stopped and had a meal at a restaurant on the way home.
Branson still has to take it easy. But he now has the possibility, maybe even the probability, of living at least well into his 70s.
“The average life span of most heart transplant patients is now 10 to 15 years,” he said, in Janurary.
He takes about 30 pills a day, and his immune system hasn’t totally rebuilt yet.
Three of those pills are anti-rejection pills.
“I’ve had three biopsies so far, and there has been no indication of rejection,” Branson said, sitting on his couch, casually dressed after just coming in from a walk outside.
Before getting sick in August 2006, Branson served as treasurer of the Aldersgate United Methodist Church.
“My doctor said I can’t go to church yet,” Branson said. “He said too many people would want to hug me and that might not be good for my health.”
His wife, Cindy, teaches algebra at Creekview High School. She taught the first two weeks of this school year, but went on leave when her husband became ill.
“The people at the school were very understanding,” she said. “I love teaching algebra, but I love my husband more.”
Of her husband’s quick recovery following the transplant, she said, “This is our own miracle.”
Branson expressed his gratitude to the donor and the family of the donor.
“I thank God every day for the donor, and I pray for the family of the donor,” he said, even though he may never meet them. “While we are celebrating, they are going to be hurting for a long time.”
Now, with a new lease on life, and with the gift of a new heart, he said, “I have the responsibility to be as good of a person as I can be.”
Contact Sarah Blaskovich at 972-628-4074 or sblaskovich@acnpapers.com.
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