Company sponsors Christmas tree to celebrate employee’s successful heart transplant

JACKSONVILLE, Fla — In the spirit of giving this holiday season, a group of employees set out to decorate a special Christmas tree to celebrate their co-worker’s successful heart transplant.

Patrick Barrett wasn’t sure what his holidays would look like this year.

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In July, he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and was told he needed a heart transplant.

“My heart really swelled up and wasn’t doing much,” he said.

For months, he waited. In October, he and his mom got the news they’d been waiting for.

“Heart came up,” he said. “It was a good match. And basically, it was like a whirlwind after that.”

“Finally you see that light. It’s very surreal.”

Thanks to support from the staff at Mayo Clinic, his family, and his co-workers, Barrett is on the mend now.

“Every day is better and better,” he said.

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“He’s going by leaps and bounds in his recovery and we’re so thrilled,” his mother Lisa Holloway added with a smile.

To celebrate his successful surgery, Barrett’s employer, OTE Maritime, decided to pay it forward.

“They called me and told me, ‘We just had someone on our team that had a heart transplant and we wanna do something special,’” said Valerie Callahan, Executive Director of the nonprofit Gabriel House of Care.

So, TOTE Maritime, they sponsored a Christmas tree for the crew to decorate at the Gabriel House of Care.

It’s an independently run hospital hospitality house caring for organ transplant and cancer patients, year-round.

“This becomes their home and these become their trees and their ornaments and they take part in celebrating the holidays with us,” Callahan explained.

While Barrett isn’t staying at the Gabriel House of Care, he knows what the journey to recovery looks like after a heart transplant, and so do his co-workers.

“In this case, it’s incredibly personal,” Callahan said. “I mean, this is their buddy.”

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You can also help support the mission of Gabriel House of Care, which is to “surround each patient with love and care, helping them heal,” Callahan elaborated.

If you’re a company, you can sponsor a Christmas tree for $500.

If you’re an individual, you can also purchase an angel ornament for any amount, and it can be dedicated to a loved one.

“These campaigns help with operating expenses,” Callahan explained.

Now with a healthy heart, full of appreciation for those around him, Barrett is excited to make a difference.

“It just makes sense to give back,” he said.

If you would like to find out more about the Gabriel House of Care, you can check out its website: https://gabrielhouseofcare.org/

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