Josh's Story

Joshua John Hermsen was born on December 11th, 1995 and died on July 6th, 2023.  

3 Heart Transplantations gave him 26 years he otherwise would not have gotten.

In Utero, as a 16-week-old fetus, Josh was diagnosed with Congenital Heart Block. The Mother of the baby, Michele Hermsen carried Anti La and Anti Ro Antibodies. These Antibodies attacked the conduction system of Joshua’s heart and inhibited the heart’s ability to pump. The final diagnosis was Cardiomyopathy. Josh’s heart was not strong enough to sustain life after leaving his mother’s womb. A baby’s heart normally beats 150 beats per minute. Joshua’s heart was beating 50 beats per minute. If Joshua survived the birth, the plan was to implant a pacemaker immediately and list Joshua for a heart transplant. 

Joshua was waiting for a heart at Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven Connecticut. After a few months of waiting at Yale, doctors told Joshua’s parents that the outlook was grim. They could no longer sustain his life and it was recommended that they look elsewhere for a hospital that has more experience with end stage heart failure and transplantation.

In August 1996, Joshua Hermsen was transported to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. A heart was still unavailable and Joshua’s health had diminished considerably. Josh was kept in a medically induced coma so he would exert no energy. If a heart did not arrive soon, Joshua would not survive.

On August 18, 1996, Joshua received the gift of a heart. He was brought into the operating room at midnight and came out of the operating room at 6:00am on August 19th. The procedure was incredibly risky because of Joshua’s critical condition. The donor heart came from the Midwest. Josh’s heart cavity was enlarged and was capable of housing a larger heart. The donor heart came from a 3-year-old boy. A team of trained doctors quickly and efficiently harvested the organ.

On October 22, 2002, at the age of 6,  Josh had a second heart transplant due to chronic rejection of the first transplanted heart.  He was the eleventh child in the world to have a second heart transplant.

On August 20, 2020, in the midst of the Covid Pandemic, Josh was once again listed for another heart.  This time, getting an organ was much more difficult and he waited for 8 months.  While in the hospital, Josh worked on completing his graduate degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.  On February 21, 2023, Josh received his third heart and was able to return home for the next year.  He enjoyed being with his family and new dog Evie.  He was living his dream of remotely counseling his first patients. 

Josh died from suddenly from a massive cardiac event in his home on July 6th, 2023 - doing what he loved.  

Josh is a Marist College Alumni with undergraduate degrees in Psychology and English and holds a Graduate Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield Connecticut.  Josh's younger sisters, Mia and Victoria, parents, Matthew and Michele and dog Evie, miss him everyday.