A Change of Heart: My Transplant Experience | Thomas Volk | TEDxUWLaCrosse

After surviving cancer in 1997, radiation therapy damaged Tom Volk's heart. Following several years of many different medications and procedures (including surviving flesh eating bacterial infection), Tom eventually had a heart transplant in 2006. This is the story of his journey, especially concentrating on what changed for him physically, emotionally, and spiritually after his heart transplant. Tom talks about many compelling reasons for signing up to become an organ donor and for making sure your family knows your wishes. Tom talks about people he has been able to help and what he has been able to accomplish in the nearly 12 years since his transplant, thanks to an unknown donor and their family. Dr. Tom Volk is a Mycologist studying mushrooms and other fungi at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, where he teaches, among other things, Mycology, Medical Mycology, Plant-Microbe Interactions, 21st Century Mycology, and Latin & Greek for Scientists. http://TomVolkFungi.net This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx