ST. LOUIS — Green lights in Dogtown were flipped on this week to commemorate the life-saving gift of a heart transplant and the Missouri husband whose life it saved after years of heart failure.
5 On Your Side's Annie Krall sat down with his wife Andrea Cunningham less than 72 hours after the man on the brink of death, Jim Cunningham, now has a new future.
On Tuesday, Jim drove almost four hours with Andrea from their home in Nixa to St. Louis hoping they'd get a very important call.
"It was raining that day," Andrea said. "Traffic was really bad. Everything I did, it was taking me 10x as long to do it. But it all led me to be there Tuesday evening whenever we received word that he had received a heart."
A retired UPS driver, Andrea said he'd been looking very ashen and gray in the days before.
Getting care from BJC Healthcare with Dr. Amanda Verma, Dr. Gregory Ewald and Dr. Justin Hartupee and the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis cardiovascular division in the weeks leading up to the surgery. Hoping to improve her husband's heart failure that Andrea said started around 2016.
"How different would this conversation be if Jim hadn't gotten a transplant?" Krall asked.
"If we were not provided this opportunity, I truly believe he would not be here," Andrea said.
A life-saving gift thanks to the surgery early Thursday morning at BJC Healthcare with the help of cardiothoracic surgeons Dr. Amit Pawale and Dr. Muhammad Masood with Washington University Physicians.
The medical procedure was commemorated this week with the 'Light It Green' event. Seen as green lights outside Mid-America Transplant's Family House in Dogtown along with other homes across the country to mark Jim's milestone and honor the donor's heart that now beats in his chest.
"You know that somebody else is losing somebody," Andrea said. "I know that's hard. I pray for that family. I pray that they have peace and comfort but what they've done is that they've given my husband new life."
Kevin Lee is the CEO of Mid-America Transplant which houses hundreds of loved ones in St. Louis during recovery. Helping facilitate about 800 organ transplants last year throughout Missouri, Southern Illinois and Northeast Arkansas.
"What's striking to me about Jim and Andrea's story is that once he was listed, he was able to receive that lifesaving heart transplant within 30 days," Lee said.
About 220 families have stayed at the Family House off of Lloyd Avenue since it's expansion in June of 2022. Allowing for private space rather than communal living for the Cunninghams expected to stay there for about a month as Jim recovers.
The family now looking toward how this new heart will help his new life.
"My daughter is dating somebody, and I know he's going to be there to walk her down the aisle," Andrea said about her daughter Ashlyn. "Just those life events that happen, he's going to be there now."
Andrea and Jim also have an 18-year-old son, Jack, who is a senior in high school in Nixa.
Mid-America Transplant says 17 Americans die every single day waiting for an organ transplant.
BJC Healthcare says more than 115,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for an organ. Emphasizing that one organ donor can save up to eight lives and improve the quality of life for up to 75 people.
If you're interested in learning more about becoming a donor you can visit the BJC Organ Donation website by clicking here.