Heart of Rescue Worker Who Died Transplanted Into Man
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NEW ORLEANS — The heart of a nurse who died while working to save victims of the Oklahoma City bombing was transplanted into another Oklahoma resident.
The recipient, William Wilcoxson, 55, of Duncan, Okla., was working at a Louisiana casino when notified that the heart was available.
The donor, Rebecca Anderson, 37, died Sunday. She had been taken to the hospital with severe head injuries she suffered after she rushed to help people in last week’s bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
Wilcoxson was told he had two hours to get to Oklahoma City to receive the transplant. He requested help from the Coast Guard when he was unable to get there by commercial means, officials in New Orleans said.
An HU-25A Falcon jet from the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala., was sent to Acadiana Regional Airport in New Iberia, La., to pick up Wilcoxson and transport him to Westheimer University Hospital in Oklahoma City.
Wilcoxson went into surgery Sunday night and was in stable condition Monday, the Coast Guard said.
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