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Las Cruces man, 29, in Denver awaiting new heart

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At just 29 years old, Spenser Lopez should be having the time of his life. Instead, he’s in a fight to save it.
Lopez and his mother, Guenevere “Genni” McMahon, are spending this week settling into unfamiliar living spaces in Denver, where Lopez is awaiting a heart transplant.
His ordeal began in late 2018, when local doctors found evidence of a streptococcal infection that was manifesting itself in his heart and moving through his bloodstream to other areas of his body, most alarmingly, his brain. He was in constant pain.
After weeks of a series of misdiagnoses and wrangling with insurance companies – as well as regimen upon regimen of antibiotics and IV therapies – Lopez eventually underwent surgery in Albuquerque on Feb. 11, 2019, to install two artificial heart valves designed to repair the areas damaged by the infection.
Having the surgery meant he would have to take blood thinners and other medications for the rest of his life, and his recovery was both slow and painful, but he and his family had hopes that the worst of his ordeal was over.
It wasn’t.
On Sept. 9, 2019, Lopez began experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath. The diagnosis came relatively quickly: His heart was failing. One of the valves had begun to separate. He would likely need a transplant.
Weeks of wrangling with cardiologists and insurance companies began anew, and McMahon – Lopez’ principal caregiver – began to feel overwhelmed by both her son’s health predicament and the byzantine process of navigating the American healthcare system for a patient who was unable to work, unable to procure insurance and unable to drive.
In a blog comment dated Oct. 24, 2019, she wrote, “Each day, we start over. And over. And over.”
On Halloween of 2019, Lopez was finally referred to the University of Colorado/Denver Heart Transplant Program (UCDHTP) for evaluation and determination of whether he would be a candidate for transplant. Although the referral meant the beginning of yet another process to navigate, McMahon felt like there was light at the end of the tunnel.
He was approved for evaluation and on Dec. 11, 2019, with his first in-person appointment scheduled for Dec. 30. There was more wrangling with insurance companies, but McMahon eventually solicited the assistance of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Office. Then things began to move quickly, and for the better.
They arrived in Denver for the evaluation process to begin on March 8, 2020. The UCDHTP, she blogged, was everything that healthcare should be in America: A team that cared and anticipated next steps; a support network whose people listened and cared and treated both she and Lopez like people instead of adversaries; a patient-centered approach to best outcomes. They even helped her wrangle records from past providers, as well as insurance assistance from reluctant corporations.
“It was a long day,” she wrote at the end of March 9. “The standard of care here is leagues above and beyond what we experienced in New Mexico. They seem to really care, they are on his side and want to help us succeed. It’s really refreshing.”
Tests upon tests were performed. The six-day evaluation process was thorough and methodical. And in the middle of it came the serious reactions of state and federal authorities to the emerging pandemic of COVID-19.
McMahon and Lopez traveled back to Las Cruces on March 18, taking precautions all along the route. The next afternoon, she was notified by UDHTP that Lopez was eligible for transplant. He was placed on the waiting list process that day and by April 2, he was officially a candidate for a new heart.
“Meanwhile,” she blogged, “we shelter in place, wear our masks and wait.”
A telemedicine conference took place on April 13 to nail down logistics and timelines to the greatest degree possible, as well as to discuss how COVID-19 might affect the process. They were told to keep their guard up, but be ready.
Less than a month later, on May 2, they were given six days to relocate to Denver. A May 8 parade was held by family and friends to show support for Lopez in front of McMahon’s Mesilla home. They arrived in Denver Monday, May 11, with plans to stay there until a heart is available.
McMahon is taking her sewing machine with her to continue to make artful masks for friends, family and others. With no certain date for a transplant on the horizon, neither Lopez nor she can make long-term plans.
But it’s coming. And it’s almost certain that when he turns 30 this coming September, Lopez will have a new heart beating in his chest, giving him back a semblance of the life a young man deserves a shot at living.


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