2022 Bounce Back Runner Up - Denise Redeker
Petaluma, CA, local Denise Redeker was among the three runners-up for this year's award. CKF is honored to acknowledge and celebrate Denise’s dedication to the transplant community across the country.
In 1992 after giving birth to her son Matthew, Denise was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Over the next ten years, her heart function became unreliable, and eventually, she received a pacemaker/ defibrillator implant. This worked for a time; however, her heart function continued to decrease, and at 50 years old, she was given a 2-year life expectancy. After suffering a severe VT episode at home, she was moved up to a priority 1A and remained in hospital until her heart transplant. Denise suffered numerous bouts of internal bleeding, organ rejection, and more post-transplant complications for 3 months post transplant. Denise continues to work to help others in the transplant community through her heartfelt help foundation.
Denise walks five to eight miles per day and continues to remain physically fit post transplant to honor her donor. Denise won the North Bay Spirit Award in 2022, thanks to her incredible work supporting transplant candidates and their families. Denise regularly speaks to high school classes about organ donation and her transplant journey encouraging hundreds of young people to make the decision to save lives by becoming organ, eye, and tissue donors.
In 2018 Denise founded and now operates the Heartfelt Help Foundation (HHF), which works to support at-risk heart transplant patients in the bay area financially by paying for medically required expenses that are not covered by health insurance. Since 2019 HHF has helped 15 heart transplant patients find and pay for post-transplant housing. Denise has developed links with local transplant hospitals to provide support for patients and their families, she partners with these hospitals to mentor patients and their families through the transplant process.
Denise volunteers full-time as CEO of HHF, she verifies patients' financial needs with the transplant team and social workers, matches patients with housing, and negotiates housing costs. She makes payments to facilities and leads HHF fundraising, media, and mentoring. There are currently over 106,000 individuals on the transplant waitlist and often these individuals are not supported by their health insurance therefore the work that Denise is doing is critical to help them and their families through the transplant process.
