Heart transplant patient from East Northport reconnects with caregivers at Huntington Hospital

Michael Clark came home from a cruise in 2023 and decided to see a doctor. His shortness of breath, which began after a bout of COVID-19 the year before, was not getting better.

The cardiologist he saw wasted no time. He sent the East Northport resident to Huntington Hospital, where Clark's blood pressure was found to be so low he could not be medicated. He was at serious risk of heart failure.

When Dr. Leah Fow, the hospital's associate director of hospital medicine, became aware of Clark’s sudden condition, she consulted with an advanced heart failure specialist to get a referral from North Shore University Hospital for an expedited heart transplant.

"We get to the hospital and the next thing you know, the transplant happened," recalled Clark, who was at Huntington Hospital on Thursday for a reunion with his doctors. After the surgery, he said, "I woke up and thought I was dead because I felt a floating sensation, light lit above me, and I felt no pain."

After a successful recovery, Clark, 49, returned to good health and now helps other patients in the transplant journey. He has gone on to be an advocate for organ donation and a mentor for transplant patients.

On Thursday, Clark expressed gratitude for his caregivers, whom he described as his "cheerleaders," saying: "It takes a village for me to be here. It took my family; my wife, my daughter, my son. I have all my friends here. But more importantly, it took my donor. Somebody who, I don’t know yet, hopefully I will."

North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset has performed more than 150 heart transplants throughout the years. It can take time to find the right match. Six months after Clark came to the hospital, a heart with the same blood type as Clark’s was found.

Clark's reunion with his doctors was part of Huntington Hospital’s wellness committee's "Thank A Lifesaver" program, founded to reconnect patients with the medical team that took care of them and to give them the opportunity to share their story.

Doctors are still not clear on what caused the sudden decline of Clark's heart. But they suspect his bout with COVID-19 played a role.

"There are many reasons why people have heart failure, and it’s not common that you have a sudden decline. But viral infections and COVID-19 have been suspected to be one of those," said physician assistant Jon Lawson, who helped oversee Clark's case. "Sometimes it’s kind of the perfect storm and everything has to line up in a poor fashion can cause a decline."

Fow said Clark's work as an advocate is vital to supporting other transplant patients and their families.

"I believe his work is inspirational. The need for organs outweighs [those that are] available, and his work will allow more patients to receive lifesaving organ transplantation," Fow said in an email. "Additionally, receiving an organ transplant is a life-transforming event. His mentorship and guidance for his peers is invaluable."