CNN shared an emotionally-crushing story of an Alaska man who missed out on his chance of receiving a heart transplant amid the disruption caused by so many canceled flights around the country.
On Thursday, CNN This Morning focused greatly on the winter weather and the Southwest Airlines system failure that left thousands of people stranded after their flights were canceled. To discuss the broader implications of this transportation meltdown, Poppy Harlow spoke with impacted traveler Patrick Holland, who talked about how he lost out on a new heart because his flights to Seattle kept getting canceled in the last few days.
Holland began by explaining that he was booked for a trip on Alaska Airlines, but his original flight was axed due to the weather. He recalled how he and his family found out their flight was canceled when they arrived at the airport, and how he was panicking in his attempts to get on board a plane.
An Alaska Airlines employee was able to get Holland onto another plane, but it was diverted to Anchorage after 4 hours. He choked up while recalling how he missed the initial announcement in his emotional state, but then the realization hit that they weren’t going to land in Seattle
“I started to panic, and my phone said ‘Anchorage,’ and my worst fears were overwhelming me,” Holland said. “Because when you hear that, you’re like, there’s somebody donating a heart and they don’t — I don’t imagine they can wait that long because the longer it waits the longer the tissue decomposes.”
From there, Holland described the emotional roller coaster he endured as the ongoing storm repeatedly canceled the next flights out.
“At this point, I knew. I told my brother, I said the next phone call is not going to be good,” he said. “Just as I was calling [the heart transplant coordinator], she was calling me back to tell me they were going to give the heart to somebody else.”
“I can’t imagine getting that phone call,” Harlow sympathized.
“It’s tough to have a body that wants to run but not to have a heart that will let you,” Holland added. “It takes away a lot. But you know what, on the same side, I believed that somebody else was going to get a miracle gift. So we just prayed for them.”
Holland remarked that he could’ve been more proactive in arranging a trip to Seattle, to which, Harlow told him “Please don’t blame yourself. This is not your fault.” The interview concluded shortly after with Harlow offering Holland her well wishes as he continues to search for a new heart.
Watch above via CNN.
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