Some of the events in this story are based on what happened to my husband, Rich, and me after he was diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome and cardiomyopathy. Rich did not have the surgery described in this story. The surgery was new and controversial at the time I wrote the story; it may be commonplace eventually. At the time I am uploading this story, a man has survived a month with an artificial heart transplant. Maybe some day no one will lose a loved family member to Marfan Syndrome or cardiomyopathy.