A Heart of Hope, One Transplant and Endless Possibilities

In February of 2024, Migdalia Rodriguez had just moved to Tampa, was busy building her remote private mental health counseling practice and was preparing to take a long-awaited trip to Greece with her beloved service dog Milo in the upcoming summer. She was 39 years old and looking forward to this next phase of her life.

So, when she started getting heart palpitations, she dismissed them as a symptom of stress or anxiety. But soon she developed a cough that got worse at night and body aches that felt like flu, which caused her concern.

“I thought maybe I had asthma because it was hard to breathe at night,” Migdalia says.

Her symptoms continued and by the next week she couldn’t walk easily without getting winded. She took the advice of a friend and went to a local hospital to get checked out. There, she was tested for viruses and was going to be sent home with antibiotics. But when she told a doctor her breathing at night was accompanied by a strange sound, he recommended further testing. The results showed her heart was enlarged, she was in heart failure, and her situation was dire. She was admitted to the hospital.

“I was terrified. Everything was happening so fast. They said I might not make it through the night, but they would treat it the best they could,” Migdalia says.

Additional testing revealed the completely unexpected – Migdalia was going to need a heart transplant.

Migdalia recovering after her transplant, enjoying a comforting visit from her dog Milo.

The journey to better health and beyond

Migdalia described this as the “scariest time of my life.” She needed to find a transplant team. She was released home with medical supervision and began sharing her story on social media. Soon she reconnected with the mother of a girl for whom she had nannied many years ago in her home state of Connecticut. The mother, who happened to be a heart failure specialist, recommended Migdalia go to Cleveland Clinic in Florida.

After exploring several transplant programs Migdalia decided that the program at Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital was indeed the right one for her. She moved back to South Florida, a place she had lived before, to receive her care there.

Her team of specialists at Weston Hospital included Nina Rivera, DO; Nicolas Brozzi, MD; Jerry Estep, MD; David Snipelisky, MD; David Baran, MD; and Cedric Sheffield, MD.

“I met every person on my transplant team, and they explained the process thoroughly to me,” Migdalia says. “They brought such expertise and made me feel at ease. I felt so cared for.”

While waiting for her new heart, Migdalia chronicled her transplant journey on TikTok. She amassed a large following of people for whom she still gives regular updates today. As a mental health therapist, it is important for her to reach out to other transplant patients and their caregivers to spread the word about the importance of mental health care before, during and post-transplant.

Migdalia’s health began to decline rapidly in the fall of 2024. But on January 13 of this year, she got the call that a donor heart was available for her. As a close friend drove her to the hospital, she said she had a mix of feelings including being terrified, hopeful and grateful to the transplant team and the donor.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about the donor,” Migdalia says. “It was so bittersweet because I knew there was a family grieving.”

Post-transplant, Migdalia demonstrates her strength and resilience throughout recovery.

Within two days of her transplant, Migdalia was able to get up and walk with some assistance. She was well enough for discharge from the hospital nine days later. Though her recovery was remarkable (the average length of stay in the hospital for heart transplant patients is 15 days), she cautions other patients not to compare themselves and to be realistic about their own recovery time as everyone’s journey is unique.

At nine months post-transplant, Migdalia is getting stronger every day. She recently ran her first 5k race ever. She takes salsa dance classes, walks with Milo and focuses on strength training. She has had to pause her career but is still finding ways to help people, especially transplant patients and their caregivers, take care of their mental health. She is grateful to her online community for giving her support during her transplant process and is working hard at giving that support back through her social media platform. She also is looking forward to finally taking that trip to Greece next year, with Italy on the itinerary now as well.

She says that she lives life with more intention now, after the major health issues she has had to face over the past two years. She credits the transplant team at Weston Hospital with giving her renewed life.

“The level of expertise of the transplant team is amazing,” Migdalia says. “I have immense love and gratitude for them. I just knew that was where I needed to be.”