Boardman man maintains active life while waiting for a heart

BOARDMAN

It’s rare for Tom Lawrence to skip his daily visit to the North Champion Street YMCA in Youngstown. The 59-year-old Boardman resident has been working out there on a regular basis for about 37 years. He walks, rides a bike, lifts light weights and does 150 sit-ups and push-ups.

Lawrence’s family said he’s kept the same regimen for a long time. This past year, what really kept him going hides under his workout shirt: an artificial heart.

Lawrence has a heart disease called cardiomyopathy, a disease that affects the heart muscles.

“His heart muscle is not as strong as a normal heart is,” said Melissa Williams, a nurse practitioner at the Cleveland Clinic. “His heart is big, but the muscle is weak. It’s not able to pump his blood sufficiently to the rest of his body like most people.”

Unlike most heart disease patients, Lawrence said he thinks his problems stem from five skull fractures he received 20 years ago at the hands of a burglar.

Read more of his story in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.