Man recovering after spending nearly 160 days in hospital after heart transplant

By Nicole Aponte

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    CINCINNATI (WLWT) — A Lebanon man has become a heart-replacement success story.

Dave Lewis’ story is one of strength, resilience and positivity.

In 2018, Lewis had a heart attack and got a defibrillator put in. Then, in May of 2023, he found out his heart condition got worse and he was going to need a new heart altogether.

“There’s a chance that I’m going to feel much better again. Compared to what I felt like in 2018. Like I’m going to get rid of this,” Lewis said. “I’m going to get rid of this bad heart and the heart that’s failing, and I’m going to get a new heart. It’s going to be better, and life is going to be beautiful again.”

He received his new heart last June, thanks to an organ donation.

By August, he was in cardiac rehab. He spent almost half a year in the hospital.

“It wasn’t always going to be an easy, steady climb,” Lewis said. “Sometimes there were setbacks, but I was still progressing forward each day. I was still heading towards that goal of getting the transplant and being recovered.”

He became so beloved by his team that they celebrated major milestones like his birthday and his 100-day anniversary at UC Medical Center.

“If I can do it, you can do it,” Lewis said of his message to others who face a similar situation. “I would tell people I’d never give up. And my advice is don’t give up. Don’t ever give up, because this team will get you through it.”

Lewis is eight months out of surgery and is doing great.

One of his nurses told WLWT’s Nicole Aponte that Lewis’ resilience should be studied because he’s stronger than ever before.

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