Marley and You
By Lunch
Marley Herrera is a 15-year old Mammoth 9th grader who will imminently face a life-or-death moment.
Marley, you see, needs a new heart, and by the time you read this, she’ll have already moved to Cathedral City with her mother Clair, 36.
What are they doing in Cathedral City? Waiting. The Herreras’ had to move within an hour’s drive of Loma Linda University Medical Center in order to be placed on a heart donor waiting list.
Because if a heart becomes available that fits Marley’s size and blood type, she’s got two hours to get to the hospital.
Until that time comes, Marley and Clair can only sit tight and try to think positive thoughts.
Both moved to Mammoth from Big Bear in the spring of 2004. Before leaving for Cathedral City, Clair was most recently employed as a bartender/server at the Restaurant at Convict Lake.
It was an incident at the restaurant on Christmas Eve that set the latest move in motion.
Overcome by watching all the happy families gather together, burdened by the knowledge of her daughter’s gradually deteriorating heart condition, Clair became so emotional she had to take a breather.
Neil Whittaker helped pick up the slack, and when a couple at the bar asked what had happened, he gave thema thumbnail sketch of the situation: that Marley, who’d had a first heart transplant at one month old, had begun to reject that heart and a transplant was necessary.
Initially, Loma Linda agreed to allow the Herreras’ to continue living in Mammoth, accepting travel arranagements Clair had with the local father-son flying duo of Elliott and Gary Thompson to assure the hospital she’d have Marley there within two hours of a phone call. Then, however, Loma Linda reversed course and decided that due to the vagaries of weather, it could not put Marley on the donor list until she moved within driving distance.
So the Herreras needed a place to live in the San Bernardino area and the couple at the restaurant on Christmas Eve, Jeff and Claudia Barker, second homeowners in Mammoth, decided to help. In the spirit of the season, they graciously offered to allow Clair and Marley to live in a furnished apartment they own in Cathedral City for as long as it takes.
With free lodging as an impetus, Clair quickly decided to make the move.
As Clair explains, “They tell you the odds are 20% that a patient will ultimately reject a heart. They also tell you that it tends to happen around this age (at the onset of puberty).” There’s no standard explanation as to why, and some thoerizing that it relates to puberty and/or hormonal activity.
In any case, it was in May 2008 when Clair first learned something might be wrong during Marley’s regular annual checkup. A biopsy showed that Marley had developed coronary artery disease, a condition where the arteries that feed the heart begin to narrow. Six months of medication did nothing to reverse the trend; the narrowing had only progressed.
“I don’t think she’s in immediate danger,” said Clair, “but since May, Marley’s been under strict orders not to exercise. This includes no dancing, which is something that she loves. Sometimes, I’d have to go upstairs and tell her to stop.”
The hospital kept Marley for two weeks of observation in May. The Bishop Big Band, as well as Fiddlin’ Pete Watercott, stepped forward at that time to do two fundraisers in order to help pay Clair’s expenses.
Looking ahead, Clair says the average wait list time for a person of Marley’s size is about 2-4 months. On a positive note, Marley has an AB blood type, which makes her a universal recipient and a good candidate.
Now a little bit about Marley. This is a kid who’s defied the odds from day one. After her first heart transplant, she was in a virtual coma for about three days before pulling out of it.
She then suffered a stroke at three months old.
These setbacks have left Marley somewhat developmentally delayed, but she’s a vivacious young woman who’s a hit with both teachers and peers.
As Clair says, Marley absolutely loves high school. On Fridays after school lets out, she’ll get home and tell her mother she wishes it were Monday so she could go back again.
Her favorite teacher Ms. Sharp, and her favorite class is chorus with Mr. Newnam. She loves to sing and dance.
Clair says Marley’s been reticent of late about committing to activities at school because she doesn’t know how long she’ll be away or when she’ll return.
As for Clair, well, none of this has been easy. She says she’s recently had nightmares about doctors tripping and dropping the second heart as they’re bringing it to the operating table.
She’s also nervous about the surgery. After all, with heart transplant surgery, there’s always a point where you’ve got to disconnect one before you reattach the other, meaning, they actually have to technically kill you (by lowering one’s body temperature to a hypothermic level to bring body functions to a standstill) before they save you.
If the surgery is successful, Marley will remain in the hospital for two weeks, and then require twice weekly monitoring for a period of time after that.
If you’d like to contribute financially to help the Herreras’ with expenses, you can reach Clair at P.O. Box #3154, Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546 or contact her boyfriend, Brad Ellis, at 310.308.1779.
Clair would like to thank Mike and Penny Melin and all the staff at the Restaurant at Convict Lake for their support during this difficult time.
