CLEVELAND — Florida Native Jack Goltz had a heart attack 20 years ago, and year after year, his heart health decreased. In January of 2020, he was told he qualified for a heart transplant, but many hospitals denied him because of his age. But he received his yes from the Cleveland Clinic.
“We’ve gotten so many noes that it was just remarkable and more than remarkable. It was just a miracle,” Barbara Goltz said.
Goltz received his heart transplant in September of 2020 and he and his wife, Barbara, have been in Cleveland ever since — a stay that has been significantly longer than expected.
The couple had to navigate a new medical center, a new city all during the coronavirus pandemic. These challenges were made easier when they found a community in Cleveland they could call home.
“Our goal here is a very radical welcome. So the biggest welcome you can imagine with compassion, and acceptance of everybody that walks through these doors,” said Elaine Turley, executive director of The Transplant House of Cleveland.
The Transplant House of Cleveland welcomed Jack and Barbara with open arms.
The Transplant House, which is comprised of 25 fully furnished apartments split between two buildings, provides more than housing, it provides social support.
“They put out a newsletter every week and it tells you what’s going on and so on and then every Wednesday they bring food in as has been made by someone in the community,” Jack Goltz said.
Patients and caregivers like Jack and Barbara so desperately need support as they head into their seventh month being away from their home in Tallahassee, Florida.
“They just try to be so kind. No, they don’t try to be they are . . . and they’re as helpful as they possibly can be. Knowing that you have all these other things on your plate,” Barbara Goltz said.
Because of the need to closely monitor Jack’s progress and the risks associated with the coronavirus, the couple isn’t sure how much longer they’ll be in Cleveland, but they say they’re grateful to be comfortable, to have each other and for the Transplant House.
“We have more in our apartment than I think we do in our house at home. It’s become very small,” Jack Goltz said.
