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Linda Karr’s story: Healing after heart transplant surgery

The missing element is partnership

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After fainting during a step aerobics class at her local gym, Linda Karr was diagnosed with a congenital heart disease. To help manage the condition, she got a defibrillator implanted, but it felt like a horse was kicking her in the chest every time it shocked her heart back into rhythm.

Over 15 years, Linda experienced increasingly challenging symptoms — struggling to catch her breath, navigate a flight of stairs, or even carry groceries. Eventually, her doctors put her on the heart transplant list. After 2.5 years, Linda underwent a domino transplant surgery.

Managing her post-transplant regimen required an overwhelming arsenal of 44 medications — pills, liquids, and syringes — all to prevent rejection of the donor heart. With the support of her doctors, Linda gradually tapered down to a more manageable 10 medications.

Among these life-saving medications were anti-rejection drugs and antivirals — products that Thermo Fisher Scientific helps to develop and manufacture in partnership with pharmaceutical companies. Today, Linda attributes her continued vitality to these groundbreaking drugs.