We gave Ally a future. That's what we do.
In October 2006, 18 year-old Allyssa Smith, a college freshman, an avid athlete and the picture of good health, was diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy, a disease that weakens the heart and causes life-threatening problems in many parts of the body.
Fortunately, Ally was referred to us. Her condition was severe. We used the latest advancements in treatments and technology—many of which were developed here—to save her life. Ally, whose courage and poise are remarkable, was sustained by a left ventricular assist device to allow her heart to rest and recover.
In March 2011, we are pleased to report that Allyssa Smith Babineaux has now gone home from the hospital to continue her recovery from a January heart transplant. Ally, who has been one of the faces of the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital for much of the last two years, became widely known in the national media as "The Bionic Bride" when she was married last summer while implanted with her heart pump.
As recently posted on her Facebook page, Ally spent more than 60 days in the hospital and it has been almost a month since her transplant. She will regularly visit the hospital for the next two or three months for lab work and clinic visits. Her many well-wishers and supporters have been an inspiration to Ally and her family, and on her behalf, we thank them. (Visit the Multimedia Room for her story in video.)
She, like countless others we have helped, is living the future she did not have. No wonder U.S. News & World Report has ranked us among the top ten heart centers for 20 consecutive years.
One Woman's Story of a New Heart
View the video (7 min.) that tells Wanda Alexander's story. After waiting on the transplant list for years, she received a new healthy heart at the Texas Heart Institute. Dr. Stephanie Coulter, THI cardiologist, helps tell the story for the CBS show, The Doctors, and the video features THI transplant team members Dr. Bud Frazier and Dr. Roberta Bogaev along with Wanda's family. (March 2010)
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