It was a normal Sunday. 

I’d worked all day Saturday, played softball that night, then played four tournament games on Sunday. A few hours after dinner, I started having a hard time breathing. Until then, I’d always been perfectly healthy. 

I went to see my doctor the next morning, and he sent me to the ER. My body had filled up with fluids. I stayed in the hospital for five days, but they didn’t really figure anything out. They finally scheduled me for a heart catheterization at Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Hobbs1 — who remained my doctor for 29 years and still is a friend — told me I would need a heart transplant someday. Could be 10 years, maybe five. 

Within three months, I was having difficulty breathing. I couldn’t do anything. My heart had doubled in size. I got on the transplant list and had the surgery three months after that. 

They told me I had a 60% chance of living five years. I was 26. So every birthday, it was like, “Oh, wow, I made it to 30." “OK, now I made it to 35.” And it just kept going. It’s been 35 years now. I feel lucky. It was a perfectly matched heart. 

It can beat your body down sometimes. I’ve had seven skin cancer surgeries and a kidney transplant because of the anti-rejection medication. But you get back up and keep going. I don’t worry; I just live life as it comes. 

 

Eight weeks after his transplant, Rick Rideout went golfing. The following week, he started traveling around the country to play competitive softball, which he did for 20 years. Now retired, he still enjoys golf. 

Note

  1. Robert Hobbs, MD, is a retired Cleveland Clinic cardiologist.