Fourteen months after La Sher Bartay went into cardiac arrest following a double mastectomy operation, a physician arrived at her bedside in Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston with some important news.

“He said, ‘Well, young lady, I’m here to tell you we have a heart for you,’” said Bartay, of Victoria. “Now that I think about it, he was probably trying not to jump for joy.”

Bartay’s doctors had been seeking an organ donor since the mastectomy revealed that she had lived the first 42 years of life with a congenital heart disorder. This came as a surprise to Bartay, an avid cyclist and mother of one who rode her bike for 20 miles each evening after returning home from her job as a registered dental assistant.

Heart transplant recipient

La Sher Bartay poses for a portrait on Tuesday at the dental office of Thomas Fordiani in Victoria.

After multiple surgeries, including skin grafting and the removal of a hematoma, Bartay survived for two and a half months on a heart pump as she waited to see whether she would receive a heart transplant, allowing her to return home.

From the moment she learned that her doctors had finally found a donor — a young man in his 20s who had died in an auto accident — Bartay felt a mix of emotions.

“I lay there and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m grateful I’m getting a heart, but this young person lost his life.’ All you can think about is his parents,” she said. “It was just something that I felt strongly about, was meeting them someday.”

‘He knew he could help’

Chelsea Garrett remembers the day her son Brandon Duckett decided he wanted to be an organ donor.

“When he did something good, he was always excited to tell you,” Garrett said. “He ran in the house and he said, ‘Madre, guess what I did today? I signed up to be an organ donor.’”

In fact, Duckett went so far as to offer give up his kidney to the stepfather of his best friend, who was in need of a donor.

“He knew he could help somebody,” Garrett said. “I can assure you he thought on that.”

Brandon Duckett

Brandon Duckett

Growing up in Nacogdoches, Duckett’s passions were many. A football and track athlete, he DJ’d at techno dance parties around Nacogdoches and Tyler and loved to dance, his mother said. He enjoyed playing video games, especially Pokémon — Pikachu was his favorite — and was a big fan of the “Game of Thrones” television show.

His father, Keith Duckett, said the two of them had a close bond and loved playing jokes on each other.

“We’d be walking aside each other, and he’d try to kick the back of my foot, or I’d sneak back up behind him — just crazy stuff, to make each other laugh,” Keith Duckett said.

One day in the spring of 2019, Duckett was fatally injured when a truck struck him as he was crossing the street and transported to a Nacogdoches hospital.

After it became clear that her son would not survive, Garrett decided to make sure his wish to donate his organs would be fulfilled. She reached out to LifeGift, an organization that coordinates organ transplants with more than 200 Texas hospitals and provides assistance to donors and recipients.

“When God told me that Brandon’s job here was done, I called LifeGift myself,” Garrett said. “I didn’t want to run the risk of anything happening and him not being able to give his organs, especially his heart, because I knew that’s what they wanted.”

Duckett’s kidneys went to his friend’s stepfather, as per his wishes, and to a 3-year-old. His lungs were donated to a 49-year-old veteran, his liver to a 60-year-old man and his pancreas to a 48-year-old man.

His heart went to Bartay.

‘Count me as a daughter’

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After her heart transplant, Bartay had to wait six months before she could write a letter to Duckett’s family.

“My six months ended up being right around Thanksgiving. Then Christmas came, and I thought, ‘This is their first holidays without them. There’s no way I can bring that up to them now,’” she said. “I felt like they needed more time.”

Finally, after a checkup in February 2020, Bartay decided to send a letter to Garrett.

Garrett soon responded, and the two exchanged several more letters back and forth. Garrett told Bartay about her son, and Bartay told her about her daughter and her love of dancing and paddleboarding.

“When she wrote me the very first letter, she told me she liked to dance. Brandon loved to dance, too,” Garrett said. “I told her she had a good dancing heart to do that.”

Though the pandemic prevented Bartay from meeting Duckett’s mother and father in person, they were eventually able to set up a Zoom call early this year.

For Keith Duckett, it was an emotional moment.

“I tried to talk, but I didn’t say too much,” he said. “I didn’t even turn my camera on because I knew I was going to cry.”

Until last month, the three of them still had not met in person. But in October, for Garrett’s birthday, her daughter decided to orchestrate a surprise birthday party with an unexpected guest — Bartay.

Jonathon Pitts, the family friend who received Duckett’s kidney, was also in attendance.

After life-saving heart transplant, Victoria woman meets her donor's parents

Jonathon Pitts, left, and La Sher Bartay met at a birthday party in October. After the death of Nacogdoches resident Brandon Duckett, his kidney was donated to Pitts and his heart was donated to Bartay, who lives in Victoria.

When Garrett walked into a local high school gymnasium, expecting to attend a banquet, she was greeted with a crowd of friends and family, including her granddaughter, who handed her a card reading “happy birthday, madre” — her son’s nickname for her.

“I pulled the tissue paper out and the stethoscope was in there and by that time La Sher was walking towards me,” she said. “I was ugly crying then. It was wonderful.”

After life-saving heart transplant, Victoria woman meets her donor's parents

Chelsea Garrett and La Sher Bartay met at a surprise birthday party for Garrett in October. After Garrett's son, Brandon Duckett, died in May 2019, his heart was donated to Bartay.

Duckett’s father was equally surprised.

“We hugged and just held each other for a while,” he said. “I felt his heart beating, and I just kind of didn’t want to let go.”

After life-saving heart transplant, Victoria woman meets her donor's parents

Keith Duckett and La Sher Bartay met at a surprise birthday party in October. Duckett's son donated his heart to Bartay after his death in May 2019.

The heart transplant has allowed Bartay, now 46, to return to her job as a dental assistant at Victoria dentist Thomas Fordiani’s office and even get back on her bike.

For Duckett’s mother and father, Bartay’s arrival in their lives has provided comfort after the loss of their son.

“For our family, it’s been great just to know that Brandon lives on through others,” Garrett said. “It’s just comforting knowing that he was able to help somebody in his final day — because that’s what he wanted.”

Now that she has met her donor’s parents, Bartay considers them family.

“I know you lost a son, but you can count me as a daughter now, if you want, because we share something that’s very special to him,” she said.

Mark Rosenberg reports on local, regional and breaking news for the Victoria Advocate as a Report for America corps member. He can be reached at mrosenberg@vicad.com or 361-574-1264 or on Twitter at @markrosenberg32. To support local journalism at the Advocate through Report for America, go to VictoriaAdvocate.com/report.

Reporter

Mark Rosenberg covers local, regional and breaking news for the Advocate as a Report for America corps member. Questions or tips? Contact: mrosenberg@vicad.com or call 361-574-1264.