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By ALAN K. STOUT [email protected]
Friday, November 10, 2000     Page: 12A

When four area bands hit the stage on Saturday afternoon at Jimmy’s Nite
Club in Hanover Township for a special benefit show, it will be more than just
an act of kindness.
    It will be a most heartfelt gesture.
   
Saturday’s show will aid area resident Tom Doan, who is slowly recovering
from a heart transplant. All proceeds will be donated to the Tom Doan Fund,
which will help cover Doan’s medical costs and aid the “Gift of Life”
program at Temple University.
   
Doan, 37, of Shavertown, received a heart transplant on Sept. 6. Earlier
this year, on Valentine’s Day, he visited Mercy Hospital in Wilkes-Barre
complaining of chest pain. Within days, his condition was deemed so severe he
was referred to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. There, a lifelong
affliction was revealed.
   
“His problems were all congenital,” says Teresa Dubil, a friend of Doan’s
who is helping organize Saturday’s benefit. “He was born with birth defects,
which had deformed his whole heart.”
   
Soon, Dubil says Doan was scheduled for major surgery, with hopes of
repairing the damaged organ.
   
“They did try to fix it down at Temple, and he had a heart attack on the
table,” says Dubil. “He was in a coma for two months. His kidneys had shut
down. He was on a respirator and life support. Little by little, his kidneys
kicked back in and he started breathing on his own.”
   
After emerging from the coma, Dubil says Doan was given the bad news: The
surgery had failed. He would need a new heart.
   
By June, Doan’s doctors felt he was well enough for the operation, but he
still had to wait for a donor. Meanwhile, business at his automotive repair
shop in Kingston had suffered greatly, adding to his financial burdens.
   
Finally, in September, Doan received the transplant. And although initially
deemed a success, there have been additional complications.
   
“He is rejecting the heart,” says Dubil, adding that Doan receives
medication and IV at home, hoping to counteract the rejection. He also travels
to Temple University for additional treatments and tests.
   
He is, says Dubil, running out of options.
   
“This man, his chest has been opened four times already,” she says. “I
don’t know how much more a person could go through.”
   
Dubil says her husband and Doan have been friends since kindergarten.
Earlier in the summer, she and her husband took care of Doan’s children while
his wife stayed with him in Philadelphia. She says the bands – members of some
know Doan while others were asked to play – were more than willing to plug in
at the show. Other friends have also helped in its planning.
   
The goal of the show, says Dubil, is not only to aid the Doan’s, but also
to raise awareness about the importance of organ donations.
   
“They’re very close friends of ours, and it’s hard to just sit back and
watch somebody be completely wiped out,” she says. “A lot of people are
helping. He’s a very nice man and his wife is very nice, and nobody deserves
to go through something like this.
   
“They just need a little help.”