Over 100,000 people in the United States are waiting for an organ donation. Unfortunately, some of those will never get the call that a suitable donor organ has been found.
Eleven-year-old Hunter Bernhardt, the son of Steve Bernhardt and Susan Jaco, was one of the lucky ones. He received a donor heart at 20 days old.
The two know how hard it is to wait on a call that might never come.
“Hunter was born with a heart condition known as transposition of the great arteries,” said Jaco. “This was usually fixable with surgery. After a few days of testing they became worried that the surgery was not going to work because he also had other problems with his heart, but they had to operate to save his life.”
Hunter was born Oct. 3, 2004. Corrective surgery was performed at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital on Oct. 13 when he was 10 days old. The surgery was not a success. His coronary arteries were too short to successfully move and he was placed on life support.
His chest was left open, but covered with bandages, for a possible follow-up surgery.
“After a few days the life support machine malfunctioned and Hunter’s heart stopped,” said Jaco. “Luckily there was a doctor outside his door and he removed the bandage from Hunter’s chest, reached inside and started squeezing Hunter’s tiny heart with his hand until they could get another machine hooked up.”
For 18 minutes, the doctor kept Hunter’s heart beating manually. 
“A nurse finally came out and all she could say was that he was still alive,” said Jaco. “Four hours later we were allowed back in and that is when they informed me he had a stroke and that they didn’t know the extent of the injuries. This is when the discussion of a heart transplant began. They had to wait and see what damage the stroke had done. I found out later that this was to see if he qualified for a heart.”
While Hunter was monitored to see if he would be a viable medical candidate, the couple had to undergo extensive questioning: What kind of car do you drive? What kind of house do you live in? What kind of family support do you have? Do you have any indoor or outdoor pets?
“I though the social worker was either very nosey or crazy but it was all to make sure we could give the new heart all of the special care it would need,” said Jaco. “Finally, Hunter was placed on the waiting list for a heart. He was checked every morning to make sure his condition had not deteriorated and he could remain on the list. We were told the average waiting time was two weeks. Doctors came in and shook my hand and told me they were sorry. They knew Hunter did not have two weeks left. No one thought he would get a heart soon enough.”
The call came on Oct. 22. A donor heart was found in Arkansas.
“I was sitting in the waiting room at shift change and my cell phone rang,” said Jaco. “They had a heart. That is a moment I will never forget. I was smiling, crying, laughing and everything all at once.”
The realization another couple had lost their child added sadness to the moment, said Jaco.
“What do you say when someone loses a child and their loss means that your child can live? There simply are no words. That poor family. I know what it means to almost lose a child, but they actually lost their baby. They had the ability to donate the organs. What human has the strength to do that? How do you survive the pain that it brings? They are angels. They have to be.”
The surgeon who would harvest the heart was in Miami and a team was mobilized to help. The transplant transportation process began Oct. 23. The surgeon flew from Miami to Arkansas. The parents were updated every hour as to the status of the process. Hunter’s defective heart was removed. His new heart arrived and it was placed.
The couple sat in ICU and watched their son’s new heart beat. Due to swelling, Hunter’s chest was left open.
“I sat in ICU and just watched his heart beat,” said Jaco. “I have actually seen the inside of my child and his new heart. He was doing great except for his kidneys. After everything he had been through his kidneys had shut down. He could not get a break. Everything bad kept happening to him. They would try a new medicine every 24 hours to try and restart the kidneys. He was so swollen. He was almost round. Then, one day it just happened. The kidneys were working and he was shrinking back to look like a normal baby. Everything just fell into place after that.”
Hunter was the 100th pediatric heart transplant performed at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Today, he has to take anti-rejection medicine and have bloodwork performed every eight weeks to monitor his condition.
On Friday, National Donate Life in Tennessee was recognized with Blue and Green Day at the Driver Testing Centers across the state. In Warren County, center employees celebrated with Hunter and the life-saving gift he received.
“It’s great that we have someone local that we can do this with,” said Driver Testing Center branch manager Angela Sanders. “We recognize this event every year by wearing blue and green, but this is the first we’ve had someone like Hunter here with us. It’s wonderful to see him and know he’s doing so well.”
According to statistics, there are 121,076 people currently waiting for a lifesaving organ in the United States. Of those, six will die every single day while they wait because the call did not come.
The heart-breaking statistics are why awareness is so important.
“No one would walk away and let someone die but yet, everyday people die because of the lack of organ donors,” said Jaco. “Why does this happen? It is so easy to save someone’s life. All you have to do is become an organ donor.”
Carolyn Bernhart, Hunter’s stepmother, is an employee at the center. Also among those in attendance to celebrate with Hunter was his stepfather, Randy Jaco, and Tennessee Highway Patrol officer Rodney Whiles.