‘Hurts Bad,’ Says Father of Heart Recipient Who Died
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PATTERSON, Calif. — The father of a teen-ager who died unexpectedly earlier in the week, three years after receiving the heart of a young admirer, said Thursday that he knows now what the donor’s family went through.
“When you walk in and see your daughter dead, it hurts bad,” said Raymond Ashlock on the eve of the funeral of his daughter, Donna.
Donna, who would have been 18 on April 1, was found dead in bed by Ashlock.
“It was a shock,” he said. “There were no signs of her being sick.”
Hospital officials said that the death apparently occurred as a result of irregular beating of the heart, a common complication in heart transplants. Donna had experienced some rejection of the heart and was awaiting a second transplant.
Ashlock said his daughter would not have lived the last three years without the heart she received from high school classmate and admirer, Felipe Garza.
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