Parents cope with second heart transplant in their family

Heart available for son on anniversary of his sister’s death.

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By Tom Stafford, Staff Writer 10:08 PM Monday, January 30, 2012

James and Phyllis Ryder learned about the ups and downs of heart transplant surgery when their late daughter, Sabrina, had it the 1990s.

The Ryders are now riding the same bumpy road with son James Ryder Jr., who on Dec. 12 received a heart at Ohio State University Hospitals.

Said Mrs. Ryder, “The first year is pretty hard.”

Thursday, their friends hope to make it a little easier by raising funds to help the Ryders with the expense of their daily drives to Columbus.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. at the UAW Hall at 3671 Urbana Road. The 7 p.m. event will feature an autographed photo of actor Justin Chambers, a Southeastern High School graduate, and a set of his scrubs from “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Admission will be $2.

“They thought Jimmy wasn’t going to make it” when he had to be rushed back into surgery the day after his transplant, Mrs. Ryder said. “His heart stopped beating, and they told us that if we believed in God, we’d better pray.”

The Ryders were used to that, having prayed when doctors installed a heart pump in their son last June to keep him alive until a heart became available.

Now recovering at Dodd Hall, an inpatient rehabilitation center at Ohio State, “he knows he’s going to get better,” Mrs. Ryder said.

Both Ryder children inherited a form of cardiomyopathy, an ailment that makes it more difficult for the heart to pump blood.

Mrs. Ryder said she took it as a good sign when news that a heart was available for her son came on Dec. 9, the third anniversary of her daughter’s death.

Sabrina was 30 when she died, as Jimmy is now.

“That was big, more than big,” said Mrs. Ryder. “That was from God, I’m sure.”

For details on Thursday’s event, call Stacey Crites at (937) 831-4197. Contributions to help James Jr. also can be made to an account at Security National Bank.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0368.

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