June 3, 2002

Heart transplant recipient experiences life changes

Charles Mardis never says good-bye. Instead, he tells people he will see them later, even if he won’t.

Why? Because he values life like he never has before.

“I feel like a new person,” Mardis said. “I don’t take anything for granted.”

Mardis, a 63-year-old Copperas Cove resident, is a heart transplant recipient.

Six years ago, he was lying on a hospital bed ready to give up on life. Now, he and his wife of 43 years are taking trips across the country. Their most recent trip to Pittsburgh, Pa., was their first since the transplant.

“It felt great to get away,” said Mardis, who wears a green ribbon and a guardian angel pin on his lapel at all times. “It made me feel more free.”

Heart transplant recipients like Mardis go through a series of life-changing experiences once they realize they are going to make it with their new hearts.

Mardis has and still is going through both physical and emotional changes.

Although he has to down 14 pills a day and monitor his physical activity, Mardis is relatively healthy, a concept that is brand new to the Vietnam veteran.

“For 16 years I was sick,” Mardis said. “I don’t know what it’s like to be healthy.”

But he’s learning.

Six months after his transplant, Mardis pitched six innings of a softball game. Sixteen years ago, Mardis had his first heart attack after playing just a few innings of a game.

“He’s come a long way,” said Mardis’ wife, Dot Mardis. “I’m real proud of him.”

Mardis also has changed his outlook on life. Instead of waiting to do things, he does them as soon as he gets an urge.

One of his sons, Tony Mardis, can attest to the emotional changes in his dad.

Before the heart transplant, Tony Mardis said his dad had never told him he loved him. But now, he tells him all the time.

“My dad has been a large inspiration in my life,” Tony Mardis said. “He has taught me to live, not wait. He’s taught me how precious life really is.”

In response to these life changes, both Tony and Charles Mardis have made attempts to thank Charles Mardis’ donor family via letter.

Charles Mardis has written two letters to his donor family. Although he hasn’t received a response, he said it has made him feel better.

“There really is no way to thank someone for the gift of life,” he said. “But I’ll never stop trying. Someday, I hope to meet my donor family.”

Tony Mardis isn’t allowed to write directly to his dad’s donor family so he writes to the newspaper. Over the past six years, he’s written two letters to the Killeen Daily Herald.

In his most recent letter, Mardis wrote, “My father would make you very proud. He has honored your beloved’s memory every waking moment and is a living testament to the benefits of love and modern science.

“All of this and more is so true,” Mardis said. “This heart transplant has changed both of our lives.”