Meet Ken Iovino Sr., he was one of the first Heart Transplant patients at Memorial Regional Hospital. Today, more than four years later, Ken shares his story on how the hospital changed his life.
"I was bedridden for two years. On oxygen for five years. In 2014, I was in the hospital getting ready to start the program. They came in and said I was a good candidate. I had an eight percent ejection fraction, so they came in and gave me the LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Device). Which kept me alive for 14 months, I was able to lose over a hundred pounds to qualify for transplant list. That's how I got the transplant, I had to qualify to get on the transplant list with the LVAD. It helped a lot", said Iovino.
Ken is currently an active volunteer at Memorial Regional Hospital and mentors patients who are currently waiting for a transplant. He is a support system for these patients and it gives him joy when patients thank him for being there.
Click on the video to hear more about Ken Iovino story and his volunteering!
