50th Anniversary Recipient Stories

My name is Tanya  Voronko  and I am alive because of an organ donor.

I want to share with all of you my testimony of God’s love and mercy throughout this year-  I have a lot to be thankful for this year! · In April our daughter, Mia Grace, was born.  She is a blessing and truly was a ray of sunshine through this difficult time. On June 25th I was hospitalized with heart palpitations, heart rate 150, and wasn’t feeling well.

The next day my husband got a phone call that I need a heart transplant - that’s when my difficult journey began. I was airlifted from St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany to Westchester Medical Center, to be closer to NYC. My heart was in the end stages of failing and my numbers were continuously going down. I was given no hope for improvement. Over the following days and weeks- I had very low blood pressure, a fever due to an infection in my blood, fluctuating heart rates- experiencing PVC’s, VTACH, SVT and V-Fib. The multiple drips were maxed, but not working to help my heart improve. I needed a heart transplant! The procedures felt unending and painful- catheters, balloon pumps, an external pacemaker, chest tubes, open heart surgery, intubation and biopsies. My petite size, along with being 2-month post-partum made it nearly impossible to find a match. My doctors believed I had less than a 1% chance to find a  match.  On July 9th I suffered a stroke with visual deficits- taking my ability to see and text to communicate. Along with the hurdle of a stroke, 2 blood clots were found in my arm. The amazing news cam on July 16th A PERFECT match was found! The next day after 6 hours of surgery I had a new heart. I am forever thankful to my donor. This first year is challenging as I am taking 30+ pills daily to keep my body from rejecting my new heart. Being very immunocompromised makes it hard to see people and go in public for long lengths of time. Even with those challenges- from the bottom of my heart I want to thank God for this incredible miracle in my life! Thank you to my husband Pavel Voronko for being there with me every day at the hospital and taking care of me!! Thank you Ludmila Shevchuk, for your support caring for Mia! Thank you to the medical staff for taking such good care of me! Thank you to my donor and their family who saved my life! Thank you to my friends and family for your prayers, donations, phone calls, visits, and all your support at this difficult time! May God bless each and every one of you! But all glory to Almighty God, who made this heartbeat again in my chest!”