When, last December, Jonathan Pinkard passed out after his shift ended in the office, he was admitted to the ER of Piedmont Newnan Hospital in Georgia, where he was hospitalized in the ICU for several days. Doctors said that he had a heart condition that required a heart transplant in order to go on living.
However, he was soon taken off the heart transplant waiting list, because 27-year-old, highly functioning autistic Pinkard had no family to take care of him after a potential surgery.
Pinkard used to live with his grandmother, who passed away in 2012, while his mother was in a rehabilitation facility. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, patients who receive a transplant need to have a support system and people around them who will make sure that they take the necessary medication to minimize the risk of rejecting the transplant.
Unfortunately, Pinkard had no support system, so he was taken out of the list. That was when he realized that he would eventually die of this heart condition and felt hopeless.
Luckily, in the ICU there was a nurse assigned to him, called Lori Wood, who, according to her fellow caregivers, is a caring and extraordinary person. When she found out that he couldn’t be in the waiting list for a transplant due to lack of a support system, she knew what she had to do.
“At some point, God places people in situations in your life and you have a choice to do something, you know, about it. And I guess for me with this situation there was no choice. I mean, I had a room, I was a nurse, you know, I could take care of him, so it really wasn’t anything that I struggled about it. It was something that had to happen.”
So Wood, a 57-year-old single mother, decided to officially adopt Pinkard and give him the chance to have the surgery when the transplant was found. And so it happened. Last August Jonathan had the surgery and is now recovering at home. Wood is taking care of him, making sure he’s taking his medication- he has to take 34 pills a day. Pinkard is expected to return to work as an office clerk in December.
The adoption process and Jonathan’s adjustment to the new environment went more smoothly than they expected. They soon found out they both loved football and “Family Feud”, so they spend quality time watching games.
“Jonathan has his chair, and I have my chair,” Wood said. “We like game shows and high five back and forth if we get an answer right. He is very loving.”
This deed of kindness and love on the part of Lori didn’t go unnoticed at the hospital where she works. On the contrary, she was awarded this year’s President’s Award, which is meant for employees who go above and beyond for their patients, visitors or their co-workers.
“Most caregivers have big hearts” Mike Robertson, CEO of Piedmont Newnan Hospital, said. “But I have not seen any nearly as close to Lori.”
Thanks to people like Lori, the world at such times looks like a better, safer place.
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