to My Forever

Im not a writer. Just wanted to sure a little of my writing and my thoughts.

Philip A. Pizzo, M.D

Director Stanford Hospital

March 10, 2012

Dear Doctor Pizzo,

You do not know me, but you might have heard about my wife?  She is a very gutsy little lady who had a heart transplant on 11-13-2004 at Stanford.  Oh yes, her name is Ann Richards-Stanfield.

Let me tell you a little about her.  She is 58 years old, type one diabetic, with thyroid problems and you guessed it, heart problems.  She is the mother of 2, and a grandmother of 7.  She is very stubborn and bull headed.  She has not had a very easy life medically or even with life in general. She was not wanted as a child and her grandmother tried to get her mother to drown her in the bathtub. No one paid any attention to her while growing up.  She was always left alone to care for herself.  She was known as the mistake in her family.

 She spent 15 years in a very physically abusive marriage and was consistently told she was defective merchandise. . She has tried to keep her medical problems to herself, fearing someone might take pity on her. Not even her own children know what she is going through.  You never hear one complaint out of her, not even a little one.  

The Sacramento California, cardiologist gave her 6 months to live, and to get on the heart transplant list, but was told “good luck” because the list was very long.  Two months later she received her new transplanted heart.

Ever since that day, 11-13-2004 it has been an uphill fight and a very big struggle for her. She almost died 3 times because of the CNV virus, rejection and many other things.  Because of these problems she has learned to know and love Stanford and the medical teams.  She calls Stanford HOME and the doctors like Doctor Hunt, Fem, Valentine and especially Dr. Haddad, were her friends.

 

 I wanted to inform you that your medical teams have a very rare quality that is not found any more in today’s world. That quality is caring.  Caring for their patients, and showing that they care. I believe this a very important part of being a doctor and aids in patient recovery. I commend you for your leadership in this area.

 

 It seems that anything that could go wrong has gone wrong for the woman I love so much.  She has said to me many times “I wish I could have just one day to be a normal person”  I asked her why would you want to downgrade yourself so much ?

 On March 4, 2012, Ann passed away.  When I found her, she was laid back in her bed with her right arm extended, and her hand reaching up to God.  This was exactly the same way she went into the operating room 11/13/2004 for her heart transplant.  My loss is great, but not as great as the world’s loss, for there is one less person to put smiles on our face, and laughter in our hearts, the way she did with everybody she met.

I request a memorial fund in her name be set up at your hospital. I will be the first contributor. Such a courageous woman that fought so hard for her life should be remembered and honored for her contribution to medicine.  Your staff was able to learn a great deal from this tiny brave soul, and she hoped her pain and suffering, would benefit other heart patients, so they would be spared her ordeal.

I wish to thank you again for your leadership in the medical field, and for your outstanding medical teams.  It is comforting to know that if my needs should ever be as great as hers, that such excellent medical quality is available.

Sincerely,