CHICAGO (CBS) — Two sisters have grateful hearts after they both received heart transplants at the same age – seven years apart.
Younger sister Meredith Everhart and older sister Abbey Cannon are now connected by a genetic condition and a second chance at life.
“The irony is that when she needed a heart transplant, she was the exact same age I needed a heart transplant,” Cannon says. “Seven years difference in age, seven years difference within 30 days of the transplant, and our birthdays are within 30 days.”
The sisters share a special bond: they get a second chance at life, which they both got at the age of 38.
Both sisters suffer from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, also known as HCM.
The genetic condition is a form of heart disease that causes the heart muscle to thicken.
In 2012, Cannon had chest pain. She was misdiagnosed in Nashville, Tennessee, and got a second opinion at Northwestern Medicine in 2016.
“Within six months, I was admitted to an aortic balloon pump waiting for a heart,” Cannon said. “I ended up getting my heart 32 days later, so my date is February 27, 2017.”
Just months after Cannon’s transplant, Everhart was also diagnosed with HCM. She tried medications and participated in clinical trials, but her condition continued to worsen.”
“For me it was like this, she’s right: I was in denial for a long time,” Everhart said, “and I didn’t want to be sick. I was in my 20s. I was in my early 30s. I was like, this is happening I didn’t. I saw how much she was suffering.”
In May 2022, Everhart contracted COVID-19, which left her with heart failure.
A year later she was added to the transplant list.
“I got the call on January 29 of this year, 2024, and it was a journey,” Everhart said. “It was fantastic, though. Northwestern was great.”
Cannon said she can’t stress enough how important it is to become an organ donor.
“If we didn’t have someone who gave that most selfless gift, neither of us would be here,” she said.
