Andrew had been just hours old when doctors first discovered he had a rare heart defect called transposition of the great arteries.

“My heart was backward. It was hooked up wrong,” Andrew says. It pumped oxygenated blood through his lungs and circulated the non-oxygenated blood to the rest of his body.

He was just three days old when pediatric cardiovascular experts created a hole in his septum to separate the left and right sides of his heart to send more oxygenated blood through his body. A month later, a second surgery removed that septum to give the rest of his body a higher concentration of oxygenated blood. At 13 months old, Andrew underwent major open heart surgery which permanently redirected the flow of blood through his body.

For the first time in his brief life, Andrew’s blood flowed correctly through his heart. Still, surgeons weren’t able to repair his heart’s faulty construction.

Doctors told Andrew’s parents he’d likely need open heart surgery again by age 13 and a transplant by 20. Andrew surprised them all when it turned out he didn’t need either.

“I couldn’t exercise or run or do things others could, but I could still function,” Andrew says. Instead, he focused on activities he could do, such as golfing, fishing, and bowling.

And he grew up. And he fell in love.

Heart and home

Andrew and Vicki married in 2002. Soon their family grew to include sons Reece, 11, and Will, 8.

In 2008, the Widmans had their first scare. Andrew had a mini-stroke, called a transient ischemic attack (TIA). Doctors implanted a defibrillator to regulate his rhythm, and tweaks in medications kept Andrew feeling strong. He had two more TIAs during the next few years.

Then in October 2016 his health took an even more serious turn.

“I would get in bed by four o’clock in the afternoon,” he says. He had to say goodnight to Reece and Will on the first floor of their home because he couldn’t climb the stairs to their bedrooms.

On Dec. 29, 2016, Andrew’s cardiologist said it was time to talk about a transplant and recommended Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute or the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Andrew made plans to travel to Minnesota.

A friend suggested he reconsider and suggested he talk to the heart experts at Saint Luke’s.