Kyle underwent a heart transplant at 23; the concert is to help offset medical costs
Shock is a feeling Kyle Allen and his father Bruce have lived with since March 28, 2017.
At the age of 23, Kyle was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Originally from Mullica Hill, Kyle attended Clearview Regional High School where he was a football player and track runner. His whole life, he has been an active, fitness conscious individual.
During one of his regular — usually two-hour-long — gym visits, Kyle felt short of breath after only about five minutes of a cardio workout.
Doctor visits ensued, a possible blood clot was thought to be the problem until local doctors determined it was something worse. He was transferred to the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, a move Kyle’s father considers to be the most impactful.
“They are absolutely tremendous, I can’t say enough about them,” Allen said.
Kyle explained the doctors at Penn acted quickly.
“My heart was operating at 16 percent,” Kyle said.
At the worst point, it was 6 percent.
When it comes to situations such as Kyle’s, patients are categorized based on the condition of the organ and placed on a list to receive a donor heart.
Initially, Kyle was not considered a most dire case, but after two weeks, the doctors determined Kyle’s heart was getting worse and his name moved up the list.
“His heart was deflating,” Allen said.
Registered on the list in May, a donor heart came in in June.
“From his bed in the hospital, you could see a helicopter coming in with the donors,” Allen said.
The surgery took place at 5 a.m., and by 8 a.m., Allen was told the donor organ was “still sleeping” but his son would recover. Kyle was placed on a heart and lung machine for a day and a half. He woke up three days after the transplant.
Reflecting on an image from the night before the surgery of Kyle smiling, being positive, Allen remembered hours after the transplant when his son was lying on his back, unconscious with what seemed like a countless number of tubes running from Kyle to different machines.
“He looked like a corpse,” he said.
Despite the unavoidable trepidation of the situation as a whole, Kyle said, “I was always just hoping for the best.”
The donor of the heart that pumps within Kyle is at the moment unknown.
“I just know it is local,” he said.
The heart was given through a organization called Gift of Life.
While friends and family members supported Kyle along the way, one in particular became inspired by the young man’s confident demeanor.
Larry McCusker, a lifelong friend of Allen, started planning a benefit for the family, one that will offset some of the medical costs of the transplant.
“He was positive from day one all the way until the present. I never saw him get down on himself or the medical problems. He was always positive about everything,” McCusker said.
“I was always looking to the light at the end of the tunnel…I wanted to be normal again,” Kyle said.
On April 28 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the American Legion Post №452, the first “Concert for Kyle Heart Festival” will take place. At the event will be food trucks, live music, a beer garden and more. Multiple local families have already offered to volunteer and help make this event what McCusker envisions it to be.
Every Tuesday since early July, McCusker and the Concert for Kyle committee, a group of locals, have met to prepare and ensure the event’s success.
“It’s a hard thing to pay for your regular bills when you have all the extra stuff,” McCusker said, adding the communities of Mullica Hill, Mantua, Glassboro, Swedesboro, Pitman, West Deptford and more have already shown the family much support.
“It’s amazing how the whole community is coming together to make this possible. Especially Larry. I can’t imagine the work it takes to get this to happen. It’s incredible. It helps with everything moving forward,” Kyle said.
The months following the surgery, Kyle was taking 37 pills a day. He down to 17–20, 10 months later. Being so young when this happened, Kyle is forced to be on immune suppressing medication the rest of his life, and he has monthly check-ups to assure his new heart is working properly. His life has been forever impacted. However, 10 months later, he says his life is slowly getting back to normal. He is even on track to graduate from Camden County College this coming fall, and he will then pursue a nursing degree from Rutgers-Camden.
“I became interested in the heart,” he said and reflected on the behavior of his nurses and doctors over the course of the year. Before March 2017, Kyle was studying computer science at Rowan.
Both Kyle and his father said the shock factor has not worn out; however, like after a treacherous storm passes through, a community and its families begin to rebuild.
“Life throws you curveballs,” his father said. “You don’t realize how strong you are as a person until you go through those things and you come out standing with the support of friends and family.”
For more information about “Concert for Kyle” and to purchase tickets, visit american-legion-mills-post-452.ticketleap.com.
