Famous Dad

Transplant recipient and his family give back for gift of life

By Wendy Leung, Staff Writer for the Daily Bulletin
Article Created: 12/27/2007 07:12:39 AM PST


When the Valtier family watches TV in the living room of their Rancho Cucamonga home, a small figurine of Tinman from the "Wizard of Oz" perched on top of their entertainment system watches back.
The once heartless friend of Dorothy is a daily reminder of Henry Valtier's second chance at life.

Of course Valtier, 57, doesn't need much reminding of his bout with congestive heart failure, which placed him in the hospital in 2006 in need of a heart transplant. An experience teetering on the brink of death doesn't escape the memory easily.

As he was wheeled away to the operating table, Valtier remembered looking down the hallway at his wife and three children.

"I thought, this could be the last look," he said.

It wasn't.

Valtier's transplant was successful thanks to the doctors and the 23-year-old donor whom he never met. He hopes to someday meet the family of his donor. Last year, he wrote a letter to the family through the organization Donate Life and hopes to hear from them in the future.

"Not a day goes by when we don't think of the young man," said Valtier's wife, Sandy.

She called the donor's family her "heroes."

While Donate Life keeps donor and recipient information private, it does the job of delivering letters.

Lisa Bernfeld of Donate Life said it can take a few weeks or a few years before the other party responds. Sometimes the exchanges are a single letter. Other times the two parties become as close as family.

This month, the Valtier family helped with the Donate Life Rose Parade float. Henry Valtier said it was an emotional experience seeing relatives of donors decorate the float. In the weeks leading to the Pasadena parade, these relatives work on floral portraits of the loved ones they lost. The portraits will be featured on the float.

Members of the Valtier family are now all registered organ donors.

Henry Valtier now celebrates July 5, the day of his heart surgery, like a second birthday. Relatives give him a cake and heart-shaped balloons and the house looks like Valentine's Day in the midst of summer.

"I don't know whether to make a big deal out of my biological birthday anymore," he said.

wendy.leung@dailybulletin.com