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22 t m c » p u l s e | m ay 2 0 1 9 Rejuvenate, resuscitate, regenerate Today, Creech takes only one of the three immu- nosuppressant drugs typically given to transplant patients, but ever since he received his transplant, he has worked to adhere to the guidelines his doctors gave him. "You are immunocompromised when you have a transplant and you have to be on guard about that," Creech said. "If a person who is immunosuppressed gets a temperature or they have a cold, they can't just wait to see if they get over the cold. They have to call a doctor. In my experience, it is not that you catch so many infec- tions or diseases, but the few you do catch, they can progress really quickly. I try to stay on top of all of that. … If I have a temp or a sinus infection, I go to the doctor; I don't just think they will get better by themselves. Living with the immuno- suppressant drugs, you have an increased risk of getting all kinds of things." Because the immunosuppressant drugs are so toxic, they can lead to cancer, kidney failure and death in transplant patients. "The great thing is, we can, through research, learn how to rejuvenate, resuscitate and regener- ate these organs. That is really the new thing in transplantation," Gaber said. "We have so much happening in the lab. We are doing studies on using stem cells to rejuvenate these organs. We have tolerance studies in the clinic and in the lab where we are trying to get people to not take immunosuppression. We give them radiation and after six months, if they are still stable, you take them off the radiation. The radiation is supposed to prevent rejection." In the nearly three decades since his heart transplant, Creech has seen both of his children graduate from college, receive graduate degrees, marry and have children of their own. He and his wife, Linda, have traveled the state of Texas watch- ing their seven grandsons compete in nearly every sport imaginable. Three of those grandsons have gotten married, so Creech is hoping for a great-grandchild soon. He is often asked if he ever thinks about his heart transplant. "Of course I think about it. And if I forget, I have an alarm that goes off every day to remind me to take my medicine," Creech said. He has also devoted a lot of his time to visiting patients who are waiting for heart transplants and who have just received heart transplants. "It means a lot to me to help these patients," Creech said. "It took me years to find my donor's family and now we send them flowers every year on the week their son died and we send them a Christmas gift every year. Perhaps, part of the reason I feel so attached to the family is that at the time of the accident, Aaron Stitt, my donor, had just finished his freshman year of college at Oklahoma State. He was 19 and he had so many parallels to my own son who was the same age and had just finished his first year of college." The donors are the real heroes, Creech said. "Without them," he said, "none of us get to count years at all." Creech spends time visiting patients waiting for heart transplants and recovering from heart transplants. SiennaPlantation.com Ten New Model Homes 45', 50' and 60' Homesites Townhomes New Dog Park Heritage Park Grand Opening! Homes from the $220s-Million+ 610 45 6 TEXAS 8 8 59 90 288 521