Kelsey Simmons

Kelsey Simmons is a patient who spent the holidays without a heart after hers died and had to be removed.

History
The day before Thanksgiving, Kelsey was on a date with her boyfriend, Mike, when she had to be rushed to the hospital. She had a pseudoaneurysm along the suture line of her transplanted heart, making her heart completely useless. The doctors were forced to remove her heart and hook her up to a machine to circulate her blood.

On Christmas Eve, she asked to go outside. She was worried she'd die and she wanted to see the snow one last time. They bundled her up and allowed her to go outside, but she collapsed. A part of her bowel had died because of her improper circulation. She had to have surgery to repair her bowel, but couldn't go under general anesthesia because she didn't have a heart. She had to be put under local anesthesia on Christmas Day and have surgery while she was awake. Because of the circumstances, they allowed Mike to be in the OR with her and they sang Christmas songs.

On New Year's Eve, Kelsey's kidneys started to shut down, meaning they needed to find a heart soon or she'd die. Very early on New Years Day, a young girl was pronounced brain dead after a head-on MVC and was a match for Kelsey. Her heart was transplanted into Kelsey. Her kidneys started functioning again and she stabilized. Mike then proposed to her, saying he knew it had only been four dates, but they went through a war together and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. She accepted.

Romantic
Kelsey was dating Mike. They'd only had four dates, but she was supposed to join his family for Thanksgiving. However, this was cancelled when she ended up in the hospital. Despite the length of their relationship, Mike stayed at the hospital by her bedside. After Kelsey received a heart transplant, Mike proposed and she accepted.

Familial
She doesn't have any family.

Notes and Trivia

 * She used to climb mountains.