Surviving a Heart Transplant: Jimmy Williams

If you passed Jimmy Williams on the street, you’d see a typical teenager doing teenager-y things. A freshman at Jackson High School, Jimmy loves music and Tennessee football, staying up late and hanging out with friends, eating Chick-fil-A and munching on barbecue Fritos. Talk with him a bit, and you’d find out he’s obsessed with golf and hopes to play D1 in college. He practices just about every day, and while he loves to compete, he really loves to win.

But what you may not know is that Jimmy is an old soul. And at 15 years old, he’s already battled for his life and won. Just a few years ago, at the age of 10, Jimmy was diagnosed with pediatric cardiomyopathy, a condition where his enlarged heart struggled to pump blood to the rest of his organs. Surrounded by family and friends, he drew from the only life experience he had, using both faith and his love of golf, as a lifeline to the future.

“Before my diagnosis, I was playing at the Orlando World Championship for golf,” Jimmy says. “I was throwing up like two times a day for a week straight leading up to that golf tournament. We thought it was nerves. I felt horrible. Couldn’t sleep. The worst I’ve ever felt in my life, but I battled it out and won third place. I knew something was up, but I didn’t know what.”

Jackson High School freshman Jimmy Williams, who wrote a book detailing how his faith helped him go through his struggle with pediatric dilated cardiomyopathy as a youth, speaks to the crowd during the Fields of Faith FCA event on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at Houck Field.Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

Jackson High School freshman Jimmy Williams, who wrote a book detailing how his faith helped him go through his struggle with pediatric dilated cardiomyopathy as a youth, speaks to the crowd during the Fields of Faith FCA event on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at Houck Field.Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

On Aug. 23, 2019, at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, an X-ray revealed Jimmy’s heart was the size of a football.

Medical professionals admitted him to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, and within the first weeks, scheduled Jimmy for LVAD surgery, where a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) became a support system to his heart. The metal wire, inserted into his chest, connected to the LVAD machine he carried in a backpack. The device made a whooshing sound inside of his chest, and because it was essentially helping his heart beat, he had no pulse.

Jimmy was very sick, but kept a positive attitude. He quickly made friends with the nursing staff and doctors and enjoyed visits from his two half-sisters, Ashley and Whitney, plus coaches and players from several local sports teams. His days were spent watching sports and dreaming of the day he could get back on the golf course.

“Sports and faith is what kept me alive during that time,” Jimmy says. “I had trust in my doctors and let God take control. In sports, you can strike out or hit a bad golf shot, and you can do something about it. But there, I wasn’t in control. I never felt like I was going to die. I just laid there and watched a lot of ESPN.”

His parents, Jim and Shana Williams, rallied support from the community and started a Facebook page, Jimmy’s Prayer Warriors, as a way to keep friends and family updated. By this time, the reality of their situation started to sink in. As thankful as they were for the LVAD, it was only a temporary solution. Their son needed a new heart and was placed on the transplant list.

After learning CPR and taking a crash course in using the LVAD, Jimmy and his family moved into an apartment just five minutes from the hospital. Every day they went back to the hospital for blood draws, tests and school, but in their downtime, they explored the city and even attended a few St. Louis Cardinals baseball games. While Jimmy enjoyed all of the new connections and experiences, he missed his dog, Shep, and all of his friends from back home. Still, he remained positive.

On Dec. 13, 2019, after waiting more than 100 days, Jimmy received a new heart.

“The transplant was weird, but easier than I thought it would be,” Jimmy says. “I was under anesthesia for 13 hours. The doctors thought I'd be in the hospital for a month or two, but I was in 10 days. The day after I got out of the hospital, we went to the St. Louis Country Club and hit balls on the driving range. I was motivated to get out there and play more golf.”

By January 2020, the Williams family returned to their hometown of Jackson, but due to Jimmy’s compromised immune system and a global pandemic, it would be almost a year and a half before Jimmy could return to school. While Jimmy was anxious to get back to his friends and studies, his parents believe it truly “worked out for the best.”

Post-transplant to present, Jimmy has used his experience to inspire others and speak out about his faith. During the Heart and Soul Gala in St. Louis just two months after his transplant, he delivered a speech and helped raise money for the Dallas Heart Center. He is also a spokesperson for Cardinal Glennon’s Homers for Health Foundation founded by former Cardinals player Matt Holliday and Matt’s wife, Leslee. Most recently, Jimmy co-wrote a book, “Attitude of Grace,” with his father.

For the rest of his life, Jimmy will continue to take 16 pills a day; eight in the morning and eight at night. He will be monitored closely to make sure his body is not rejecting this heart, and he will have a heart biopsy at least every two years. Jimmy can’t swim in a pond or a lake, and most likely will not be playing football anytime soon. But he doesn’t focus on any of that.

“I stay positive about life,” Jimmy says. “It’s made me mentally tougher. I don’t take things personally. And I trust in the power of God’s grace. If I can go through that, I can go through anything.”