Cranford High Grad, 22, Celebrates 10th Anniversary Of New Heart

CRANFORD, NJ — Emma Rothman, a Cranford High School graduate who got a heart transplant when she was 12, is just weeks away from graduating from Syracuse University with a degree in Food Studies.

In March of 2011, Emma was 12 years old when she suddenly began to feel extremely fatigued and could not make it through an entire day at school.

Her parents brought her to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center (NBIMC) for what was supposed to be a quick, routine blood test.

However, Emma went into cardiac arrest, was put on life-support under an induced coma, and was rushed to the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit at New York-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital.

Emma, who showed no prior symptoms, was somehow battling end-stage heart failure brought on by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

On April 1, 2011 she underwent a successful emergency heart transplant that saved her life. Just 15 days later, Rothman was discharged, taking with her instructions for how to care for her new heart at home.

“The last thing I remember was feeling uncomfortable while the nurses were attempting to draw blood at the hospital thinking I might have had mono or a virus,” said Rothman. “I woke up six days later and learned that I had a heart transplant. Prior to that, I had never heard of organ and tissue donation or transplantation.”

Ten years later, she's taking the next step in her life’s journey.

“I am definitely a bit terrified, but I am excited about the variety of opportunities that lie ahead,” Rothman said.

Rothman said she's always thankful for her donor who gave her the gift of life.

“It motivates me to appreciate the day-to-day," she said, "being able to travel, go away to school, and have life experiences without my health dictating what I can and cannot do."

She added, "I owe all of this to my organ donor’s act of extraordinary humanity.”

In 2013, Rothman and her family, guided by their firsthand experience, established Hearts for Emma, a 501 (c)3 organization that provides assistance to families of children with heart disease, and supports educational initiatives related to heart transplantation and promotes awareness of organ and tissue donation.

As part of a joint outreach effort, Hearts for Emma established a Partner Fund within the NJ Sharing Network Foundation that has raised more than $50,000 since its inception.

The Hearts for Emma Partner Fund has helped educate more than 100,000 students in New Jersey about organ and tissue donation and transplantation through the production and distribution of education materials and related programs, and provides scholarships to high school seniors who are advocates of or personally impacted by the mission.

In New Jersey, there are nearly 4,000 residents currently waiting for a life-saving transplant, and one person in New Jersey dies every three days waiting for a transplant.

One organ and tissue donor can save eight lives and enhance the lives of over 75 people. Transplantable organs include heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and intestine. Transplantable tissue includes corneas, heart valves, skin grafts, and bone grafts, ligament and tendons.

NJ Sharing Network is the federally designated non-profit organization responsible for recovering organs and tissue for the New Jersey residents currently waiting for a life-saving transplant.

With headquarters in New Providence, the organization is part of the national recovery system, serving the 110,000 people on the national waiting list.

To learn more, get involved, and register as an organ and tissue donor, visit www.NJSharingNetwork.org.

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