71113 A gift of a heart from the heart gives Mesa woman new lease on life - East Valley Tribune Mesa

wwweastvalleytribunecomlocalmesaarticle_a37ec788-9605-11e1-ad22-0019bb2963f4html 14

Thursday 7112013

Board of Supervisors accepting applications

for assessor opening

Mesa teacher takes part in summer research

fellowship

East Valley fuel prices fall but that may

change soon

Somers Kavanaugh named to Valley Metro

boards

Happening Now

Todays Calendar

July 11 2013 | 0239 pm

GO96degBroken Clouds

Home News Opinion Sports VarsityXtra Money Life Get Out Blogs Jobs Classifieds Obits Public Notices

FREE amp LOCAL NEW ABC15 Valley Weather NEW ABC15 Valley Traffic East Valley Mesa Gilbert Chandler Tempe Arizona 2013 Best of East Valley

Home East Valley Local News Mesa

Story Comments (1) Image (3)

TweetTweet 5

Share Print Font Size

A gift of a heart from the heart gives Mesa woman new

lease on life

Posted Monday May 7 2012 812 am | Updated 251 pm Tue

Mar 19 2013

By Stacie Spring Tribune | 1 comment

Mia Welch lived without a heart for nearly six months

But on St Patrickrsquos Day a little Irish luck was with her

ldquoMy grandfather was 100 percent Irishrdquo said the Mesa

21-year-old

That morning she was sitting with her boyfriend in her

room at the Mayo Hospital in Scottsdale when she

saw a helicopter land she said

ldquoI was joking with him and said lsquoThatrsquos my heartrsquordquo

Welch said ldquoI hadnrsquot seen a helicopter land therebefore A little while later the doctor came in and

asked me if the nurses told me the good newsrdquo

They found her a heart

bull bull bull

Welch a graduate of McClintock High School in

Tempe once danced for the Mesa CommunityCollege dance company was diagnosed with an

enlarged heart in 2010 Doctors believe that it wascaused by a virus that attacked her heart but by the

time she ended up in the hospital with cardiac

issues the virus was gone

In the fall of 2011 she went into heart failure At the

time there wasnrsquot an available appropriate heart for

transplant so Welch was given an artificial one First

ldquoBig Bluerdquo a 400 pound machine and then a smaller

one housed in an ever present backpack did the

work that Welchrsquos heart couldnrsquot do

The constant humming became her constant companion as the rapid ldquodo-do-do-do-dordquo whooshing of the

machine pumped her blood

ldquoIt still feels weirdrdquo she said putting her hand over her chest Her heartbeat is much slower than the pumping

of the device

It was difficult to sleep without the white noise of the machine at first Welch said but the constant vibrations

that shook her entire body are not missed at all

Getting a heart transplant was never a guarantee

ldquoI knew I would get a heart but I just didnrsquot know whenrdquo Welch said with certainty

Welch had been told she was to receive a heart transplant twice before but each time it wasnrsquot quite right

Like 10

Welcome Login |Signup

Thursday Jul 11

300 pm

Reptile Adventures

Phoenix Public Library-Mhellip

400 pm

Workshop for First-Time Homebhellip

Take Charge America

430 pm

Super Farm Market

Superstition Farm

Friday Jul 12

Saturday Jul 13

View Full Events Calendar

Related Mesa dancer 21 waits for new heart

Previous Next

Related Stories

Stacie SpringTribune

Mia Welch

St Patricks Day proved lucky after all for 21-year-old Mia Welch

of Mesa who recently received a heart transplant this past

March [Stacie SpringTribune]

71113 A gift of a heart from the heart gives Mesa woman new lease on life - East Valley Tribune Mesa

wwweastvalleytribunecomlocalmesaarticle_a37ec788-9605-11e1-ad22-0019bb2963f4html 24

Multimedia

Print Edition Online

ldquoWhen they told me this time I knewrdquo

Whether it was luck of the Irish third timersquos the charm by the grace of God or just pure fate by 10 am on St

Paddyrsquos Day Mia went down for transplant prep

By 3 am on March 18 Welch had a heart pumping inside her chest again

bull bull bull

Mia Welchrsquos life is slowly returning to a new sense of normal

ldquoI wanted a bubble bath thatrsquos what I had been waiting forrdquo she said with a smile ldquoThe tubes from my device

went in through my stomach and I couldnrsquot take a bathrdquo

Shersquos healing and doing so at a rate faster than expected

Welch was up and walking the day after and off the ventilator in about three days She left the hospital nine

days after surgery Usually they told her it takes about two weeks Her latest heart test came back normal So

far there arenrsquot any signs of rejection she said

The only visible signs of her illness are the bruise on her neck from a recent test mdash a healing incision that

peaks above the neckline of her t-shirt mdash and her swollen face caused by steroids And soon even those will

fade

She starts cardiac rehab in a couple weeks and after rehab she should be able to dance again

On Friday Welch planned to attend her niece and nephewrsquos basketball game the first such event in a very

long time

ldquoJust little things mdash I donrsquot have to have to push a button to get uprdquo she said ldquoI can go out and visit Itrsquos just lifemdashso many people take it for grantedrdquo

bull bull bull

Despite able to leave the hospital itrsquos also one of the places she still returns to

ldquoThere are three guys who are still waiting who still have artificial heartsrdquo she said

And going through it with someone else who understands makes it easier she said

The person who was always there for her was Carmen and they waited together Welch said Carmen was

the first person she met who was in the same situation Like Welch there were two disappointments while

waiting for a heart

The two spent New Yearrsquos Eve together this year watching the ball drop on TV Welch said

ldquoWe planned on going to New York City for New Years when we couldrdquo Welch said

But while Welch had another chance Carmen did not She passed away unexpectedly a few weeks ago from

a condition completely unrelated to her heart Welch said

It was Carmen who taught her to think ldquoone day at a timerdquo During Welchrsquos time in the hospital she became

more self-reflective by keeping a journal and praying

ldquoYou donrsquot realize how blessed you are until you almost have it taken away from yourdquo Welch said ldquoYou never

think yoursquore going to be that person mdash that person who gets sick

ldquoYou wonder why this happened to you I was in school I was dancing I didnrsquot do drugs But Irsquove learned to let

it go mdash I donrsquot struggle with lsquowhyrsquo anymore I was strong enough to go through it and thatrsquos why So many other

people are going through the same thingrdquo

The hardest part of her time in the hospital was not knowing what the next day would bring she said And

while it would have been easy to be depressed she wasnrsquot ready to give up

ldquoI had to learn to give what I wanted to getrdquo she said ldquoI couldnrsquot rely on people to make me laugh I had to

make them laughrdquo

Someday Welch plans to return to school and dance Eventually when the right amount of time has passed

she plans to try contacting the family of her donor

V ide o Ce r ina

Adam e Bas e ball

Pitche r

Photos Sine m a

Tow n Hall

Photos Ar izona

Ce le br at ion of

Fr e e dom

V ide o Ar izona

Ce le br at ion of

Fr e e dom Satur day

V ide o It ty Bit ty

Be ach Par ty in

Apache Junct ion

V ide o PHX Eas t

V alle y 2013

pr oduce d by

71113 A gift of a heart from the heart gives Mesa woman new lease on life - East Valley Tribune Mesa

wwweastvalleytribunecomlocalmesaarticle_a37ec788-9605-11e1-ad22-0019bb2963f4html 34

TweetTweet 5

Discuss PrintShare

More From This SiteGermaine building Queen Creek into

something special

Higgins resigns from Mesa City Council seat

effective next month

Investigators to examine why Ariz blaze killed

19

College grad at 15 nurse at 17 Gilbert

wunderkind reaching for Miss Arizona crown

Comedy show aims to help Arizona pet

rescue groups

From Around The WebAdmitted Cannibal Reveals Fascinating Past

(Vice)

Brazilian fans kill behead referee who killed

player (Sports Illustrated)

Princess Dianas Revenge Dress Was the

Best Way to Get Even With Prince Charles

(CafeMom)

This Schoolrsquos Principal Went Way Too Far

(Nick Mom)

How to Use 57 to Trace a Phone Call (eHow)

ldquoI donrsquot know how to thank someone for that but I definitely want to meet themrdquo she said

Her recovery is quicker than expected but even making plans for the future is new again

ldquoI had to slow myself downrdquo she said ldquoIrsquom taking one day at a time Irsquom just living liferdquo

Contact writer (480) 898-5645 or sspringevtribcom

More about Typography

ARTICLE New businesses prove theres sti l l a market for old technology

ARTICLE The Vent Aug 19

ARTICLE The Vent Aug 17

ARTICLE Letter Column was disgusting

ARTICLE The Vent Aug 10

More about Mia Welch

ARTICLE Mesa dancer 21 waits for new heart

More about Heart Transplantation

ARTICLE Chandler toddler first pediatric heart transplant recipient at Phoenix Childrens

Posted in Mesa Local Health on Monday May 7 2012 812 am Updated 251 pm | Tags Typography Mia Welch

Heart Transplantation Mayo Hospital Mesa Community College Artif icial Heart New Year Heart

Failure Enlarged Heart Heart Transplant New York City Surgery Bruise

Recommended by

Like 10

Forgot

Screen Name or Email

Password

Welcome to the discussion

Login

71113 A gift of a heart from the heart gives Mesa woman new lease on life - East Valley Tribune Mesa

wwweastvalleytribunecomlocalmesaarticle_a37ec788-9605-11e1-ad22-0019bb2963f4html 44

SectionsLocal

Arizona

NationWorld

Sports

Varsity Xtra

Money

Get Out

Opinion

Blogs

Classifieds

Obits

ServicesAbout Us

Career Opportunities

Advertising Info

Contact Us

E-Editions

Find a Rack Location

Local Businesses

Privacy Policy

Site Map

User Agreement

ANA Legal Notices

AffiliatesAhwatukee Foothills News

AZ Interactive Media Group

Daily News-Sun (Sun City)

Glendale Today

Peoria Today

Surprise Today

Explorer (Tucson)

PhoenixBrides365com

Nerdvana

Contact us

East V alle y T ribune

Phone number 480-T RIBUNE

A ddress 1620 W

Fount ainhead Parkw ay St e

219

T empe AZ 85282

More Cont ac t Informat ion

Share Your News

copy Copyright 2013 East Valley Tribune Tempe AZ [Terms of Use | Privacy Policy]

A Division of 1013 Communications

1 comment

Posts 258

MrBrightside posted at 1135 am on Mon May 7 2012

Such a great story and a great attitude Its the best feeling in

the world knowing youll be healthy again Good luck to you =

Log In to report Link

W e re alw ays int e re st ed in

hearing about new s in our

communit y Le t us know

w hat s go ing on

Share y our news