Former Navy sailor thriving after heart transplant

It was in 2022 that U.S. Navy Aviation Ordnanceman Manny Pleasant, then age 24 and serving on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, began to feel unwell and couldn’t figure out why. As his symptoms of feeling tired, run down and irritable persisted, Manny’s frustration grew.

“I remember thinking that I should not be feeling like this,” he says, reflecting on the beginning of a health care journey that would last the next several months.

A key turning point came late one night while onboard the ship. Manny got out of his bunk to get a cup of water and passed out. The ship doctor began treatment for a high heart rate and sent Manny to Navy Medical Center San Diego.

The diagnosis

Manny was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a muscle disease that enlarges and overworks the heart. He was treated with medication and had a pacemaker inserted.

However, Manny’s condition deteriorated while on a trip to visit his mother. He struggled to breathe and began coughing up blood. On the return flight home, Manny developed blood clots in his leg. The clots migrated to his lungs, a condition called pulmonary embolism.

Navy doctors decided to transfer Manny to Sharp Memorial Hospital to receive more advanced therapies. With his heart beginning to fail, Manny was in critical condition when he arrived. He was placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a machine that takes over for the heart and lungs when they are too weak to function on their own.

“At Sharp Memorial, we had all the treatments Manny needed in one place,” says Jonathan Goldstone, RN, MSN, the hospital’s ECMO coordinator and lead ECMO specialist. “ECMO served as the bridge that gave the doctors the time they needed to stabilize Manny and treat his underlying conditions.”

Preparing for a transplant

After a few days, Manny was removed from ECMO. Dr. Karl Limmer, a Sharp Community Medical Group cardiothoracic surgeon affiliated with Sharp Memorial, installed pump devices, known as ventricular assist devices (VADs), in each side of Manny’s heart. Dr. Limmer suggested that the only way for Manny to return to his normal activities would be to receive a heart transplant.

“Those were tough times,” Manny says. “My wife would be crying. But I would not have made it through without her and Sharp’s nurses. They really understood how to keep me going and told me to take my time with it.”

Because of his Navy experience, Manny was used to relying on toughness to push through roadblocks. But he says the nurses helped him understand that this process would be different. His progress would not come in a straight line, they told him, but the entire team would be there to help him celebrate small wins each day.

Going for a walk

“I remember telling my wife that when the time came, I wanted to walk out of the hospital on my own,” Manny says. It was a goal he dedicated himself to meeting.

“There were other surgeries Manny needed to repair damage caused while his heart was failing,” Dr. Limmer explains. “But through all that, the nursing team worked really hard to build up his strength to prepare his body for the transplant.”

Three months after Manny’s arrival at Sharp Memorial, Dr. Limmer performed the heart transplant surgery. Remarkably, within a few days, Manny was able to get up and begin walking.

“It’s really a testament to him,” says Dr. Limmer. “He deserves the credit for how he responded. The combination of his mental perseverance and the work our team did to build his strength allowed him to get out of bed so quickly.”

On the day of his discharge from Sharp Memorial, Manny took part in an emotional ceremony during which he rang a bell, a powerful symbol to mark the start of a new beginning with his healthy heart. He took pictures with the team members who had guided him through the small wins and were there to celebrate his most significant win.

He then fulfilled the goal he’d set, walking out of the hospital with his wife by his side.

“I look at it as having a second chance,” Manny says. “I’m just doing things that are making me happy again.” He cites fixing up old cars, returning to skateboarding, and trying surfing for the first time among his plans.

Having started this unintended journey feeling sick and frustrated, Manny now sees a lifetime of possibilities filled with time to spend with his wife, family and friends.

Learn more about heart care at Sharp. Sharp also teams with the VA San Diego Healthcare System, supports veterans with end-of-life care through Sharp HospiceCare, and is a proud Level IV partner of We Honor Veterans to help meet the unique needs of veterans and their families.