Meet ‘Miracle Mike’

Mike Meredith owes his life — and his heart — to an organ donor.

If there hadn’t been a “Y” on the driver’s license of the young man who died, there’s a chance “Miracle Mike” might not be alive today. But because that man, that son, that loved one signified he was an organ donor, he would save the lives of a number of people when he was unable to recover from his own injuries.

That simple act of signing up as an organ donor has tremendous consequences, and that isn’t something Mike Meredith takes for granted. His gratitude is showcased in a quote that was printed on a banner created by the Iowa Donor Network and was posted in the Jasper County Courthouse rotunda:

Donors are among the heroes of the world. My donor gave me a second chance at life and to grow old with my wife and family and to be able to watch my grandkids grow up.

Staff at the Jasper County Driver’s License/Motor Vehicle Department — of which Mike Meredith’s wife, Cindy, is an employee — showcased that same banner outside their office doors on Thursday, Feb. 11 to tell customers how critical it can be to identify as an organ donor on one’s photo ID.

“Here’s an example right here in Jasper County of just how important it is,” Jasper County Treasurer Doug Bishop said, pointing to the photograph of the 62-year-old Mike Meredith smiling on the banner. “… They call him ‘Miracle Mike.’ And it is a miracle.”

Bishop said the Iowa Department of Transportation contacted the driver’s license department in August if it wanted to serve as an advocate of sorts for organ donation, particularly because Jasper County is so busy and one of the most efficient offices of its kind in Iowa.

When the IDOT asked if staff knew of anybody in the county that has had an organ transplant, they knew their own co-worker had a unique experience. Cindy Meredith and Mike Meredith obliged to share their story.

Mike Meredith had his heart transplant on May 13, 2018. It was Mother’s Day. Before the surgery, the Jasper County man had been living with a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) — a mechanical heart pump — for more than two years. The LVAD operated by batteries during the day, electricity by night.

“That’s how he lived,” Cindy Meredith said.

And it was difficult to live that way, too. Mike Meredith’s heart gave up on him countless times. Cindy Meredith said doctors had to shock his heart more than 255 times and flatlined 13 times. But the LVAD did help, even though it left him in critical condition for the first three weeks and required physical therapy.

“The LVAD totally saved his life because he coded in Grinnell the day that he had his third heart attack,” Cindy Meredith said. “They flew him to Des Moines and they kept him alive for a couple weeks before they could even get the LVAD implanted. They day tried to put the LVAD in him they put him on life support.”

Mike Meredith said it was scary the day he got his heart transplant. The doctors sedated him, but he didn’t know if he’d wake up, fearing something would go wrong during the operation. Cindy Meredith was fearful, too, when her husband started bleeding after the transplant had seemingly finished.

But after a while he came around. Mike Meredith said he had a hard time coming to terms with having a transplanted heart. There’s a feeling of guilt. Someone else had to die for him to receive that heart. But the donor family, he said, helped him through it, which he deeply appreciated.

These days, Mike Meredith is weened off a lot of the initial medications, but he will have to take anti-rejection pills for the rest of his life. He has since met his donor family and developed strong bonds with them, too.

“They’re our heroes,” Mike Meredith said. “(Organ donors) are a big deal. It’s very important. Very important to me and a lot of people out there.”

Cindy Meredith added, “It’s just real important that people understand how important it is to give your organs, because you can gave someone else a second chance at life, like that have Mike.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com